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Looking at where Oilers prospects will play in 2026-27

Photo credit: x.com/NDHockey

By Ryley Delaney

Sep 20, 2026, 11:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 20, 2026, 00:28 EDT

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The 2026-27 National Hockey League season is right around the corner.

While the Edmonton Oilers kick off their season in less than two weeks, a handful of their prospects have already begun their respective seasons, mainly those still playing overseas. The team lacks a high-end prospect, but they have a few prospects who could become mainstays in the lineup over the coming seasons.

Let’s take a look at where the prospects on their reserve list are playing in 2026-27!

AHL/ECHL

The Oilers’ American Hockey League and ECHL teams will be made up of prospects, though where is still up in the air. Last season, the AHL Bakersfield Condors featured prospects like Connor Clattenburg, Atro Leppänen, Beau Akey, Damien Carfagna, Quinn Hutson, Viljami Marjala, and Isaac Howard.

Hutson and Howard both had good AHL seasons in 2025-26. Both players, especially the latter, will factor into the Oilers’ plans in 2026-27. Marjala also had a good season and could be a candidate for some playing time this season.

There were a few mainstays on the Oilers’ ECHL team in 2025-26 as well. Matt Copponi, Brady Stonehouse, and James Štefan all played 35 or more games with the Fort Wayne Komets in 2025-26, as well as a handful of games with the Condors. They may jump up a level in 2026-27.

The Oilers’ affiliates will also welcome fresh faces this season, as draftee William Nicholl will play in Bakersfield.

Nicholl, drafted in the seventh round in 2024, spent most of his 2025-26 season with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights, but appeared in five regular-season and three post-season games with the Condors to end last season. Both players will likely start their season in the AHL.

The Oilers also added a few older prospects to their ranks in recent months. Owen Michaels was signed following his junior season at Western Michigan University. He’s a 24-year-old right-shot centre who may get a look in the NHL this season.

Tomáš Cibulka signed his entry-level contract in late March after two seasons in Czechia. Last season, the left-shot defenceman scored seven goals and 22 points in 47 games, along with a goal and three assists in four playoff games.

Aku Räty signed in July after 51 games with Karpat of SM-Liiga. In those 51 games, the winger scored 20 goals and 57 points, the eighth-most points in the league. Räty is the older brother of Aatu Räty and made his NHL debut back in 2023-24, picking up an assist in his lone game.

With Matt Tomkins signed, the organization is faced with a bit of a challenge as they have four goaltending prospects for four AHL/ECHL spots. Nathaniel Day and Samuel Jonsson served as the Komets’ tandem last season, and the latter is deserving of a look in the AHL.

Last season, that left Connor Ungar in a weird spot, as he played for three separate ECHL teams, two of which weren’t in the Oilers’ organization. Like Jonsson, Ungar is worthy of a look in the AHL, as he posted a .923 save percentage and 2.51 goals against average in 13 games with the team last season.

If it were just those three, the Oilers could make it work. However, 2024 second-rounder Eemil Vinni is coming stateside this season after several seasons in Finland. He’ll likely tandem in the ECHL alongside Day, but the Oilers now have five goalies for four jobs.

Europe

Sticking with the professional ranks, albeit overseas, the Oilers retain the rights of eight players. Three are in Russia, while Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland each host one Oiler prospect. The likelihood of a handful of these players playing for the Oilers is now slim to none.

It looked as if Maxim Berezkin could forge a spot on the Oilers’ roster, but the 24-year-old re-signed with the Kontinental Hockey League’s Yaroslavl Lokomotiv after back-to-back Gagarin Cup victories. Berezkin was selected in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft.

Russian defenceman Nikita Yevseyev was drafted in the sixth round two years later, but he’ll return to the KHL’s Kazan Ak-Bars in 2026-27. At only 22 years old, the left-shot defenceman scored four goals and 16 points in 61 games last season. He’s certainly a prospect worth monitoring, especially if he ever comes to North America.

Rounding out Russian-born players is Maxim Denezhkin. Drafted in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft, the 25-year-old centre scored 17 goals and 29 points in 55 games with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg last KHL season, the same team he’ll play for this season.

The Oilers hold on to the three Russian-based players’ rights indefinitely. Despite signing with HC Ambri-Piotta of the National League (Switzerland), the Oilers maintain Roby Järventie’s rights as well as they qualified the restricted free agent this past off-season.

Of course, there are two recently drafted prospects who are in Europe as well. Netminder Daniel Salonen, drafted in the sixth round of the 2025 NHL Draft, will play for SM-Liiga’s Lukko this season. He appeared in 30 games for Finland’s top-flight team in 2025-26, posting an .887 save percentage and 2.40 goals against average.

In June, the Oilers drafted Malcom Gästrin with the 84th overall pick. The winger has already begun his 2026-27 season with MoDo Hockey’s U20 team in Sweden, where he’s scored two goals and three points in four games. He played four games in Sweden’s second tier last season.

College

Most non-professional Oiler prospects are situated in the ranks of college. Before the end of the last season, they signed Owen Michaels from Western Michigan. Well, two Oilers prospects will play for the 2025 NCAA champions, Tommy Lafrenière and Zack Sharp.

Lafrenière was drafted in the third round of the 2025 NHL Draft, scoring 41 goals and 77 points in 67 games with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers in 2025-26. After they fell in the first round of the WHL playoffs, the right winger joined the Bakersfield Condors for five regular-season games and three postseason games. He was signed to an amateur tryout, thus keeping his collegiate eligibility intact.

Sharp was acquired by the Oilers on July 1, as he joined the organization in the Darnell Nurse trade. The defenceman was selected in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Draft by the Sharks, scoring five goals and 19 points with Western Michigan last season. This will be his third collegiate season.

There are two other Michigan-based Oiler prospects playing in the NCAA this season. Both Asher Barnett and Aidan Park are set to play for the University of Michigan.

Barnett, a defenceman selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NHL Draft, scored five goals and 18 points in 40 games last season with the Wolverines. Park was selected in the seventh round of the same draft and scored eight goals and 16 points in 39 games with the Big-10 team. Both players are entering their sophomore season.

Similarly, 2024 draftees Dalyn Wakely and Bauer Berry are also entering their sophomore seasons.

Wakely is set to play his second season at UMass-Lowell, having scored seven goals and 19 points in 35 games last season. The Port Hope, Ontario product is 22 years old and was drafted in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Draft. Berry, a defenceman, was drafted in the following round and scored three goals and 14 points in 37 games with the University of St. Thomas in 2025-26.

Paul Fischer ranked as our sixth-best prospect in the 2026-27 pre-season list, but is about to embark on his senior season at Notre Dame. Assuming he doesn’t return for a fifth season, the Oilers are set to lose Fischer’s rights on June 1st, 2027, unless he’s signed to an entry-level contract.

Acquired as compensation for the Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway offer sheets (unofficially), the left-shot defenceman scored a career-best six goals and 23 points in 33 games for Notre Dame last season.

Junior

There are five Oiler prospects set to play in junior hockey in 2026-27, two in the Ontario Hockey League and two in the United States Hockey League. Four of the five players were selected in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Rūdolfs Bērzkalns was selected in the second round back in June, and he’ll join the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks for the 2025-26 season. Last year, he scored 13 goals and 25 points in 48 regular season games, then another four goals and 10 points in 16 playoff games. The Latvian centre is committed to Boston College for the 2027-28 season.

Netminder Ryan Cameron, drafted in the seventh round, will play for the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede in 2026-27. Last season, the 19-year-old posted an .882 save percentage and 2.92 goals against average in 40 games. Like Bērzkalns, Cameron is committed to Boston College.

The last two prospects were both drafted in June out of the Canadian Hockey League. Andrew Robinson, drafted in the fifth round, and Caden Harvey, drafted in the sixth round, will play their 2026-27 season with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires.

Robinson, a defenceman, scored nine goals and 24 points in 63 games last season, then added two goals and eight points in 13 playoff games. Harvey, a right wing, scored 11 goals and 34 points in 68 games, then added three goals and six points in 13 playoff games. Harvey is committed to Penn State; Robinson to Providence College.

Lastly, David Lewandowski, who is still at training camp with the Oilers, is expected to return to the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. Lewandowski, drafted in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Draft, spent most of his 2025-26 season with the Blades, but appeared in his first AHL game at the tail end of last season.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for DFOEdmonton, DFOCalgary, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on X at @Ryley__Delaney.

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