The Edmonton Oilers’ top prospect is heading to the AHL All-Star game.
After a start to his season that’s seen Matthew Savoie score nine goals and 24 points in 29 games, the forward earned a nod to the annual classic on Wednesday.
He ranks second on the Condors in scoring this season, and is tied for the team lead in assists. The rookie ranks near the top in terms of first-year scoring production in the AHL, tied for fifth in goals, tied for fifth in assists and tied for fourth in points.
Savoie has found himself scoring in bunches as of late after as he’s racked up five goals and 14 points in his last 11 games, which has included a pair of three-point performances, as well as three two-point performances.
As Oilersnation’s Bruce Curlock highlighted in his weekly prospect report on Sunday, Savoie is starting to knock on the door for NHL minutes.
So when Matthew Savoie was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres, the Oilers faced their first test of this new strategy. He was properly sent to the AHL to start the season, given all the minutes he can handle and in every situation including on the penalty kill. His start was slow, which can be expected from smaller, offensively gifted forwards as learning how to play against bigger, faster competition takes time and learning to play quality defensive hockey takes time.As the season progressed, the game started to click for Savoie. Whether it’s been at right wing, his likely NHL position, or his time at centre when injuries hit, Savoie showed a very mature defensive game at both even strength and on the penalty kill. This was a great sign. The only nagging question was whether the offence would come.See, in his first 18 games, Savoie only had ten points. Now most of that was at 5v5 which made it somewhat encouraging given this is the game state players need to succeed at the most. However, the point-per-game total was still low for someone with his offensive gifts. Well, that all changed when the calendar rolled over to December as Savoie started to score, racking up 14 points in ten games that includes 12 points in his last six games.
It’s a great sign that Savoie’s game is rounding out — especially offensively — but whether or not that results in him getting a recall anytime soon remains to be seen.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, and senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
