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Former Oiler Derek Ryan says depth players need ‘a role’ on current team
Edmonton Oilers Derek Ryan
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Michael Menzies
Jan 30, 2026, 14:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 30, 2026, 14:51 EST
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A recently retired Edmonton Oiler offered his critique of the team, saying they need to find ways to give depth players roles. 
Derek Ryan, who played with the Oilers from 2021-22 to 2024-25, was on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer on Wednesday. 
Stauffer asked Ryan if he viewed Edmonton as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. 
“Yes, with an asterisk,” said Ryan.  
“They obviously have the two best players in the world, or two of the best players in the world…. It’s been hard the last five years that I’ve been around the team. Basically, they need to find a way to give these depth guys that aren’t Connor and Leon, that aren’t playing with them, a role, and a chance to be successful, [so they can] feel like they can contribute, feel like they can have a niche.”
Ryan’s comments are revealing in that they are not coming from a pundit, but someone who was in that very position. He admitted that it can be difficult to figure out where you fit. 
“It took me a little bit my first year I found that role, and I think Connor appreciated that specifically… that kind of helped form those bonds and those relationships that I was talking about earlier,” he said. “But if these players… if they’re not given a chance to have that, then it just always feels like Connor and Leon’s team.” 
Coach Kris Knoblauch’s deployment of the bottom six has faced scrutiny, but depth scoring has been better overall as of late. 
Recent acquisitions on the wing, Trent Frederic and Andrew Mangiapane this season, Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson the year before, haven’t been able to find their niche on a nightly basis.
That’s led to Mangiapane’s name on the trade block and Frederic settling in on the fourth line, with no special teams time. Frederic is currently mired in the third-longest goal-scoring drought of his career at 29 games, with just two goals and three points on the year. 
Twice, Ryan was able to score double-digit goals while never averaging more than 11 minutes and 26 seconds of ice-time a season, while also fulfilling a niche of playing the penalty kill consistently. 
After playing 19 playoff games in the 2023-24 run to the Stanley Cup, he was surpassed on the organizational depth chart last season, finishing his career with the Bakersfield Condors. He retired in September 2025. 
Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and has been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, he also collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues.

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