For the last few seasons under the Ken Holland regime, prospect watching was more of an occasional habit as opposed to a regular, everyday routine. Between trading out prospects and draft picks, the Oilers organizational depth became very shallow.

That all changed in the summer of 2024 almost immediately after the Stanley Cup Finals ended. The combination of Jeff Jackson and Stan Bowman replenished the prospect pool in a very short period while the rest of us were enjoying summer holidays.

Now the two got the benefit of the Oilers having seven draft picks in the 2024 NHL draft as opposed to three picks and four picks, respectively, in the prior two drafts. They also benefitted from some very good picks from the Holland regime blossoming like Shane Lachance, Maxim Beryozkin and Luca Munzenberger. However, there is no question that Jackson and Bowman committed to rebuilding the organization’s prospect funnel and made big strides.

Whether it was focusing on the OHL in the draft for the first time in years, bringing in a very highly ranked prospect Matthew Savoie in a trade for Ryan McLeod or forcing the St. Louis Blues to add a player like Paul Fischer to what became a trade essentially of Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, the duo made an outsized impact on the youth of the Edmonton Oilers organization this summer.

As we enter the first winter solstice since all this work, there are green shoots already sprouting all over this organization. More on Matthew Savoie, Dalyn Wakely, Sam O’Reilly, Connor Clattenburg, Matvey Petrov, Noah Philp, Beau Akey and Paul Fischer in this week’s Oilers Prospect Report.

Last week I wrote about how this would be a big week for Matthew Savoie. The Condors had four games before the Christmas break. Savoie had been playing well, but the point totals were not indicative of his play. The coaching staff was doing a very good job of getting him more minutes in critical situations to help his development. He was already on PP1, but he was starting to take a healthy role on the penalty kill. In addition, the coaching staff was getting him out there in the final minutes with games on the line. However, the point totals were still muted for someone of his skill level. This week Savoie had a breakout of sorts registering three goals in the four games. He really should have been credited an assist as well in his last game before the break, but the three goals were still an encouraging sign. He scored in all kinds of ways. He had an empty netter to seal a win against Henderson. He also scored a great powerplay goal against San Jose off a tremendous pass from Seth Griffith.

However, the goal I liked the best was this 5v5 goal earlier this week. Watch the entire shift here. Watch Savoie’s forecheck. Then watch him battle on the wall to help free up the puck. Finally, watch the part of his game that is certainly NHL level: his release. This puck gets on his stick and off his stick in the blink of an eye.

I remain firmly convinced that Savoie’s point totals will be stronger when he plays in the NHL because his decision-making and execution of plays is at an elite level. In the AHL, it sometimes surprises his teammates when the puck gets to them as quick as it does and often that means the opportunities are lost.

The other part of his game that is certainly going to get the coach’s confidence is his work off the puck. Here are two clips, one in each of the defensive zone and the offensive zone, that are indicative of his mature play. Savoie’s work in his own zone to exit is quite strong despite his smaller stature. This was the part of the game I was certain would require improvement, but he has been incredibly good all season. He’s stronger on the wall than I anticipated. His use of his body and stick to gain possession is excellent. When he starts to work back up the ice, he is very composed and his great puck skills are very handy.

In the offensive zone, Savoie is a whirling dervish. He is in constant motion when he is off the puck. This shift is very representative of what Savoie is like in most games. He should have gotten an assist on this play. He would have in the NHL. However, it doesn’t matter. He was primarily responsible for the good things that happened here.

The one thing Savoie needs to do more of is shoot the puck. He has a legitimate NHL release. On the year, he is averaging just two shots per game. In his last game before the break, he had six shots on net. He needs to pile up more shots. It will create offence for him and his teammates.

When Wakely was drafted by the Oilers this past summer in the sixth round, the big question was whether Wakely could replicate the breakout offensive season he had in 2023/24. Wakely came from nowhere to tally 104 points in 66 games or a 1.58 points per game average in North Bay last season.

As a 19-year-old, these types of seasons can happen given the experience and strength the player has against younger, physically immature players. So it was a legitimate question of whether Wakely had found something in his game offensively that could make him an interesting professional prospect. Well so far this season, Wakely is covering the bet. He’s playing on a deeper team in Barrie where he gets less minutes overall and less powerplay time for certain. However, Wakely still has 14 goals and 14 assists in 24 games or a 1.18 points per game average. He continues to shoot the puck a lot averaging well over three shots per game which is a very good sign.

This week Wakely had his best production of the season. In the two games before the Christmas break, Wakely went 1-4-5. His goal was a very “Dalyn Wakely style” goal. He went to the net hard and kept banging away until it went in.

However, the play I want to highlight is this assist. Make no mistake, Wakely is a hard-nosed, straight-line type of player, but he has very good puck skills. Watch this play he makes out of the corner to set up a goal for his teammate.

This is the part of his game that has really flourished the last season and a half. Wakely not only makes plays, he makes highly creative plays with confidence. It will be interesting to watch the remainder of the season for him. If he continues to grow in confidence with his puck skills, Wakely will be a very interesting professional prospect for the Oilers.

When the Knights saw Easton Cowan and Kasper Halttunen go off to the U20 World Championships, the question for me became if Sam O’Reilly would seize the opportunity. The Knights are a very deep team and during the season O’Reilly has gotten lost sometimes. With those two players away, O’Reilly was certainly going to see more ice in more critical situations. The question is what would he do with it. Well the early news is encouraging. In three games this week, O’Reilly went 3-2—5 with eight shots on net.

I have highlighted the shot totals because I would like to see O’Reilly shoot more. He doesn’t have an explosive shot, but he has a very deceptive release. He changes the angle of his blade a lot when he shoots off the rush and it clearly fools goalies. Watch two of his goals this week and notice how he works the angle of stick before he releases the puck.

Coming out of the draft this was a part of his game that caught my eye. He has a shot that gives goalies trouble. Using it more would likely create more offence for him and his teammates.

The other aspect of O’Reilly’s game that has been really impressive is his passing skills. O’Reilly has an excellent vision as a passer and makes great plays. Watch this assist from earlier in the week. O’Reilly sees his play very early here. He races to get into a spot to make the pass. Now look at the tight lane he has to execute through. He makes the play and it leads to a goal.

O’Reilly has another ten days of games before the Knights’ roster is back to full strength. He needs to continue to push the river offensively so the coach has no choice but to keep him on the ice a lot even when Cowan and Halttunen return.

Matvey Petrov had an awful start to his year. It began in Penticton at the prospects tourney where players of his experience usually dominate. Petrov wasn’t even noticeable. That carried on through training camp and into the first part of the Condors season. He played a lot of fourth line and he frankly earned it. There were, and to be honest, still are, moments when I see a player who looks like he is headed to the KHL in the near future. However, there is also a player who has some very elite skill at doing the hardest thing in hockey: scoring.

This week Petrov continued to show he can do that at will when he wants. The Condors played four games and Petrov scored four goals. More importantly, Petrov did not just rely on his very quick, very powerful release. He scored in a variety of ways that all related to getting to the tough areas of the ice. See Matvey Petrov is a big man. 6’2″ and 200 pounds. So while he can score from outside. I think he has the ability to score from close range as well. This week he did just that.

First, I really liked the work off of the face-off. One of the reasons, Petrov is playing down the line-up is his work off the puck. He needs to be more consistent in his defence. This was very nice work by Petrov. His hard work gets rewarded at the other end with him going to the net for the finish.

Here is another excellent goal that starts in his own zone. Great work with him and Jayden Grubbe to exit the Condors zone to start. Then watch Petrov maintain great discipline in the F3 for a long period of time. When the puck gets loose he steps in a goes to work down low. Finally, watch the big man work when he sees an opportunity to score. He is very hard to handle for defenders when he wants to be.

Finally, Petrov is scoring in Petrov ways as well. He has a very quick release that can make goalies look a little silly.

As with Savoie, Petrov has to shoot more. Even this week he only had eight shots in four games. His average for the year is 1.4 shots per game. He has to shoot more. His shot is that good. Right now he has an unsustainable 25.4 percent shooting rate. However, if he averaged 3.5 shots per game for the rest of the year and shot 18 percent, he would end up with a 30-goal season. That will get him noticed.

Clattenburg has clearly been battling an injury or injuries for most of the season. He will play a game one night and then isn’t in the lineup for the next one. Certainly, his physical, high-speed style of play lends itself to this situation. When Clattenburg plays though, he is a wagon. He’s instant chaos on every shift in a good way. He keeps the other team very honest. However, there is also some offence here. Now Clattenburg is 19 so you would expect his offence to be better. Still, though this season has really improved. He is only 11 points behind his season total last year. On a points-per-game basis, he is at .82 versus his average of .50 points per game last season.

While you would expect his goals to be of the crash-and-bang style, he actually displays some very high skill scoring. This week was no exception. Here is a very typical goal for Clattenburg. He often leaks out on transition and finds the soft spot to get a pass. He has excellent speed and size, so catching and defending him is very tough. When he gets to the net, he definitely has an idea of what to do.

However, the goal of the week and maybe his career was this one against Saginaw. It starts in his own zone with some nice work to get the play started. When he gets the puck and starts the attack, he uses his size, speed and puck skills to make a very strong play. I have slowed it down so you can see this work.

That is an outstanding play by a player who has not shown that type of puck skills previously.

Clattenburg played twice this week going 3-1-4 in those games. He also played more on left wing this week as opposed to centre. He is more naturally suited to this role and I think he feels more comfortable in that position. Regardless, it was an excellent week for Clattenburg and it is clear he is working hard on his offensive skills because he is being counted on by his team to score. That will be music to the ears of Oilers management.

Noah Philp has seen some rough spots recently in his game. This week was better with two points in four games including this great goal.

He also took on Mason Geertsen in the same game, coming to the defence of a teammate who took a high hit. Philp has lost some of his high-leverage time in the penalty kill and at the end of games to Jayden Grubbe. Grubbe has really been relied upon by the coaching staff in these situations lately. Philp has a good line of Seth Griffith and Jacob Perreault. He needs to be more consistent and impose his will on the game more often than he has recently. I expect this is mostly just some mid-season fatigue after missing a year of hockey.

Beau Akey and Paul Fischer both made their respective U20 national teams for the upcoming World Championships. Akey should be on the third pairing for the tournament. He has been in a rotation with Caden Price in the exhibition games. His passing and skating skills are superior, but Caden Price is an excellent defender.

Fischer is uncertain to play. In the first exhibition game, Fischer was slotted on the fourth pairing which likely means he would not play in the tournament. The USA plays their second game tonight, so we will learn more shortly on the situation.

Maxim Beryozkin returned to the ice with his team after an 11-day break in the KHL. He played two games this week and has scored twice and added one assist. He remains the team leader in scoring with 26 points in 37 games. He will break his season total high of 30 points in very short order. Beryozkin’s contract expires at the end of year and it will be interesting to see what the Oilers do.

That’s it for this week folks. From our house to yours, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. May you have a joyful and restful holiday season with family and friends. Thanks to each of you for reading my work. Thank you to Zach Laing and BaggedMilk at the Oilersnation for making my gibberish look professional. Have a great week everyone.

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