If you compare the current Edmonton Oilers roster to what it was many years ago, you could point out a large variety of improvements all across the team. But perhaps the most significant change this team has seen is the quality of their puck-moving from the backend.
Long gone are the days where we had to watch Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl forced to expect outlet passes from the likes of Kris Russell or William Lagesson just to see the puck rim off the glass and out, resulting in a turnover or icing. With the emergence of Evan Bouchard and the acquisition of Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton’s puck-moving took a monumental step forward; following the 2025 Trade Deadline, it just got even better.
At exactly 12 AM on Friday morning, the Oilers officially announced that they acquired defenceman Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks. Walman made his Oilers debut in Edmonton’s victory against the Dallas Stars on Saturday night, and if there’s one thing you can take away from his performance, it’s that this guy can move the puck pretty damn well.
Whether it’s passing the puck with control to the forwards in transition, or carrying it up the ice himself to create a rush chance, Walman is excellent at it. Both his puck carrying and passing results in Detroit and San Jose have ranged from solid to superb. But a large part of his puck-moving begins from deep in the defensive zone, where he excels at successfully retrieving loose pucks and moving it out with control.
We saw all of this on display on Zach Hyman’s second goal of the game against Dallas. After a brief puck battle in the corner, Walman picks up a loose puck behind his net. He sees Hyman beginning to get behind the Dallas defenders, and, under pressure from a forechecker, fires a flawless flip pass resulting in a breakaway and a goal. These types of plays are not easy to teach.
Overall, microstats from AllThreeZones rank Walman as one of the league’s most well-rounded puck-movers. His controlled exit rate ranks higher than 84 percent of all NHL defenceman over the past three seasons, and his total zone exit rate ranks higher than 91 percent. 
There are some that wanted the Oilers to acquire a physical, defensively-minded cycle-buster on the backend at the deadline. But many forget that puck-moving is not strictly an offensive trait; it also plays a vital role in defensive play. One of the best ways to defend in today’s NHL at 5-on-5 is to limit the time you spend defending in the first place, which can be best achieved by consistently moving the puck out of the defensive zone.
Overall, Walman’s net on-ice defensive results are quite strong. Both the Red Wings and the Sharks saw a significant decrease in 5-on-5 goals against per hour with Walman on-ice, which is made more impressive considering that he has played a higher proportion of his TOI against elite opposition than 98 percent of NHL defenders over the past four years (per PuckIQ).
In the 2024 playoffs, the Oilers out-scored opponents 22 to 12 with the Ekholm – Bouchard pairing on-ice, but without them, they were out-scored 22 to 35. When that pair was not on-ice, Edmonton mightily struggled to move the puck out of their zone without turning it over, especially against the Florida Panthers in the cup finals.
This is where Walman could potentially make a massive impact. This time around, the Oilers should be significantly more prepared against strong forechecking teams in the playoffs without the top-pair on-ice. With his ability to play both sides, it gives Edmonton a variety of different options; he could be paired with Darnell Nurse or Brett Kulak on the second-pair, or he could even be paired with Ty Emberson. Even deploying Walman with Evan Bouchard to create an offensively-minded top-pairing, allowing Ekholm to play with Emberson as part of a shutdown defensive pair, could be an excellent option.
All-in-all, Walman is a fantastic addition by the Oilers with the potential to be a real difference-maker for this team. It will be exciting to see how he makes an impact.
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