A pair of former Oilers prospects are joining another ex-Edmonton player in Utah on professioanl tryouts.
The Oilers’ 2017 first-round draft pick Kailer Yamamoto signed a tryout with the Utah Hockey Club last week, and the NHL’s newest club announced Monday former Oilers prospects Cameron Hebig and Dylan Wells did, too.
Hebig, 27, signed an entry-level contract with the Oilers in Dec. 2017 amidst his final season in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades. He would score 41 goals and 90 points that year, splitting 66 game between the Blades and Regina Pats.
Hebig spent just two years in the Oilers system, however, having a strong rookie season with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, scoring 11 goals and 29 points in 64 games, and a sophmore campaign in which he split time between the AHL and ECHL. He’s spect the last four seasons with the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners, scoring 37 goals and 86 points in 222 games.
Drafted by the Oilers in the fifth round of the 2016 draft, Wells, now 26, struggled to find his way in the Oilers system. He broke into the pro ranks in 2018-19 with a strong season, posting a 12-5-2 record, .912 save percentage and 3.04 goals against average in 22 ECHL games, with a 6-6 record, .909 save percentage and 2.84 GAA in 12 AHL games.
The following season, however, saw all of those numbers regress. In 10 ECHL games, he posted a .871 save percentage and a 4.98 GAA, and in seven AHL games, it was a .878 save percentage and a 3.77 GAA.
Edmonton traded Wells to the Carolina Hurricanes for future considerations in July 2021, and in the three years, he’s played for seven teams in the NHL, making his debut with the Chicago Blackhawks, AHL, and ECHL, including last year for the Tuscon Roadrunners.
Given both of Hebig and Wells spent last season with the Utah Hockey Club’s now AHL affiliate, and that both of these guys are signed to play there next season, it will afford the big club a first look at some of the organizational depth they have.
The Oilers, meanwhile, don’t miss either player in their system. Hebig just posted career highs in AHL offence, with 12 goals and 32 points, struggling to produce in his prior years, while Wells’ drop off in the two seasons he spent with Edmonton clearly turned them off from any desire to see what else he could do for them.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
