Few wingers in the NHL will have a better opportunity than the ones vying for spots in the Edmonton Oilers’ top-six forward group this fall. Training camp will open with the chance to skate alongside two of the league’s top three centres.

In the past three seasons, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have combined for 458 assists. The next closest pair of centres in combined assists are Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at 300, followed by Elias Pettersson and JT Miller in Vancouver at 290, and Miller was traded away last season. Nathan MacKinnon has 242 on his own, but the next highest centre the past three years in Colorado is Ross Colton with 36 assists.

Beyond Zach Hyman, the Oilers need better goal production from McDavid and Draisaitl’s wingers this season. Hyman had 19 goals 5×5 last season, second most in his career, but the next three wingers who played the most on the top-two lines didn’t have great goal-scoring production. Viktor Arvidsson scored eight goals at 5×5 with either of the top centres on the ice, Vasily Podkolzin scored six, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored three. Funny enough, McDavid only assisted on one of RNH’s 5×5 goals last year. RNH scored more 5×5 goals (six) away from McDavid and Draisaitl.

Here is a breakdown of 5×5 time on ice spent with McDavid, with Draisaitl, with both at once and then the total TOI spent with McDavid and/or Draisaitl and what % that was of their total 5×5 time. The final column was their complete TOI at 5×5.

One thing that stood out for me was how Viktor Arvidsson spent 52% of his time with McDavid and/or Draisaitl, yet he still felt like he didn’t’ get the best opportunity here, which is why he waived his NMC and was dealt to Boston. He simply didn’t produce as well as he would have liked. He played the fourth-most TOI with either of the superstars.

The players in bold are not on the roster anymore, and they’ve been replaced by Trent Frederic (only played seven minutes in the regular season last year), Matt Savoie, David Tomasek, Andrew Mangiapane, Ike Howard, and Curtis Lazar. For this exercise, let’s remove Lazar, as I don’t expect to see him as a regular in the top six.

I can confidently say Hyman will be a regular in the top six, and that leaves three wing positions to be filled. My question is: Which three forwards do you think will play the most TOI with McDavid and/or Draisaitl this season?

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins: He’s smart, reliable, and has played just under 1,300 minutes 5×5 with McDavid the past three seasons and another 462 minutes with Draisaitl. The coach trusts him there, and the superstars like playing with him, but is he the best option? I think he’s a better third-line centre than a top-six winger. He can do both, and likely will this season, but I’d look at playing him 3C to start and seeing if some other wingers can produce in the top six. If they don’t, you can always re-insert him on the top two lines, and when Kris Knoblauch opts to load up McDavid with Draisaitl, then RNH will be the 2C.

Vasily Podkolzin: He only had eight goals 5×5 last season. He is a great forechecker and was quite good at puck retrievals and creating turnovers, and getting the puck on Draisaitl’s stick. He’s fast (was ranked in the 93rd percentile among NHL skaters last season), physical, and solid defensively. Last year, he was always one of the first and last on the ice working on his game, but this year, with new skills coach Conor Allen on board, I sense he will work smarter on improving specific skills. He has a good shot, but didn’t use it often enough. I see him having the potential to score 14-17 goals, mainly at 5×5, and he will be in the mix to play with Draisaitl, at least to start.

Andrew Mangiapane: He scored 11 goals 5×5 last year, and his two main centres were Lars Eller (403 TOI) and Nick Dowd (213). From 2020-2023, Mangiapane scored 15, 15 (56 GP season), 23, and 15 goals at 5×5. Last year in Washington, he was mainly on the fourth or third line as the Caps’ top two lines were producing well. His best season, 2022, when he scored 23 goals 5×5 and 35 overall, he played mainly on the second line with Mikael Backlund. Mangipane has shown he can be a productive complementary top-six winger. He shoots left but is comfortable playing the right side as well.

Matt Savoie: He had an excellent first pro season in Bakersfield, scoring 19 goals and 54 points. He was fifth in rookie scoring and led all rookies with a +21 rating. Savoie played on the power play, penalty kill, and 5×5, and he was solid on the PK. Knoblauch has already mentioned he will give Savoie a look on the PK. He’s a gifted offensive player and scored 256 points in 161 WHL games before turning pro. He’s quick, creative, and thinks the game very well. Last season there were four rookies who scored 30+ points while playing on a playoff team: Logan Stankoven (38 points split between DAL/CAR), Zach Bolduc (36 pts with STL), Jackson Blake (34 points with CAR), and Mackie Samoskevich (31 points with FLA). They mainly played third-line minutes, but Stankoven did play more when he got to the Hurricanes. Stankoven averaged 15:05/game, Blake (13:51), Samoskevich (13:19), and Bolduc (12:48), but they all got some PP time as Bolduc had 12 PP points, Samoskevich had 11, Stankoven had eight, and Blake had seven. Savoie could see some second-unit PP time, and I expect the Oilers to give their second unit a bit more time this year, but Savoie will likely see more time on 5×5 and the PK.

Isaac Howard: He was acquired from Tampa Bay for Sam O’Reilly. He won the Hobey Baker award as best NCAA player last season, scoring 26-26-52 in 37 games for Michigan State. He’s the same age (21) as Savoie, but this will be his first pro season. It is a big jump, and while Howard is likely the best pure shooter out of the winger options, he’s the least proven at the pro level. I think he will have a solid NHL career, but I’m cautious with rookies and expectations. He doesn’t have the defensive awareness of Savoie, at least at this stage of his development, and if you play in the top-six, you often face the opposition’s best offensive players. Scoring is great, but as Podkolzin showed last year, being solid away from the puck and defensively can be just as important when playing with Draisaitl or McDavid. Those two will produce regardless of who they play with, and they might produce more with a finisher. But they don’t like giving up a lot. Draisaitl finished sixth in Selke voting last year. He takes a lot of pride in being responsible at both ends, and if Howard is going to play regularly in the top six, he’ll need to be aware defensively. That is hard to learn at the NHL level, especially when you face the opposition’s best offensive players.

Trent Frederic: He’s physical, and he will bring much more than what Oilers fans witnessed in the playoffs when he was battling a high ankle sprain. To this point in his career, he’s been a third-line player, and that might be his ceiling, but we’ve seen many players morph into complementary second-line players in their late 20s. Could Frederic mirror what Patrick Maroon did when he was an Oiler? Frederic skates better, but Maroon had excellent hands in tight. Granted, Maroon’s time in Edmonton was the most productive of his career, by far. He scored 49 goals in 154 games with Edmonton and scored 77 goals in his other 694 games. Maroon and Zack Kassian were two big forwards who had success playing with McDavid. It didn’t last, but both had very productive stretches. Frederic is an option on McDavid’s left wing.

Adam Henrique: If RNH is going to be the third line centre, I’d have time to try Henrique on McDavid’s left wing. In a limited time, he’s had great success playing with McDavid, so I won’t be surprised if we see him get a look there during the season, depending on how others do. I don’t expect him to be the first or second option, but as the season progresses, he might get a look. He’s a very smart player and is good around the net.

David Tomasek:  He is the ultimate wildcard. In 2024 he led the Swedish Elite league in goals, and last year he led the league in points. He will be a first year NHL player (not a rookie due to his age), and he has loads of pro hockey experience, but none in North America. But clearly he knows how to produce. Will that translate to the NHL? I truly have no idea, but he’s an intriguing wildcard. He might surprise offensively, or be a reliable bottom six forward, or struggle to stay in the lineup.

Last season saw eight different skaters play at least 200 minutes with McDavid and/or Draisaitl. Ideally, the Oilers would like to see that number drop because it would mean someone has found good success and the team remains healthy. They had four wingers play over 400 minutes and would prefer to see that increase a bit as well.

The great news for the Oilers is that the competition to be a top-six winger will be intense. You have a wide range of options, and they offer different strengths from proven veterans to solid producers and a few high-skilled rookies.

Which four do you think will play the most 5×5 time with McDavid and/or Draisaitl this season?

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