Welcome to Oilersnation’s annual player review series, where we dive into the Edmonton Oilers season player by player. We’ll look back at the season that was, what kind of impact each player had, and what we could see from them next season. You can read about the analytics behind my analysis here.

The context

As judgment day approached on the duel offer sheets signed by Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, in August of 2024, Stan Bowman acquired Ty Emberson from the San Jose Sharks. Rather than match the expensive offer sheet for the left-handed Broberg, the organization brought in a cheaper right-shot defenceman.

“He’s got a really nice skill set, and I think the other thing I like about him is that he’s in that age range. He’s a 24-year-old, and we haven’t seen his best days yet. I think he’s coming into his own,” said Bowman.

It’s peculiar that he didn’t apply that same logic to the two offer sheet signees, who were clearly on the rise, but regardless, he was right to bet on a young Emberson. In his first season with the Oilers, Emberson controlled the flow of play in sheltered minutes. According to Natural Stat Trick, he posted a 50.43 per cent share of scoring chances and 54.26 per cent of high-danger chances.

Despite the encouraging on-ice metrics, he failed to outscore the opposition and fell out of the rotation in the 2025 playoffs.

Improvement, but how much?

This season, Emberson needed to take a step up to solidify his spot on the roster. He flirted with the top four minutes at times, sliding onto a pair with Darnell Nurse briefly. After the Oilers acquired Connor Murphy, however, he returned to the third pair to play alongside Jake Walman for the stretch run.

Emberson eclipsed 1000 five-on-five minutes for the first time and hit a career-high 49.25 per cent goal share. It wasn’t a massive breakout, but Emberson did enough to establish his place on the roster full-time. Most of that is thanks to his defensive game.

Among all defencemen to play over 1000 minutes, Emberson ranked 14th in goals against per hour. Additionally, he led Oilers right-handed defencemen in expected goals against on the penalty kill.

His success shutting down the opposition in a limited role begs the question: Can Emberson level up and be a second-pairing defenceman next season? I believe the ceiling is there, but there are a few areas he may still need to improve.

His microstat profile isn’t too different from Murphy, who played well on Edmonton’s second pair, but Emberson falls short in a couple of ways. According to All Three Zones, he struggled to defend in transition, ranking within the bottom five per cent of the league in both entry denial rate and entry chance prevention. Additionally, his retrieval success rate is only in the 28th percentile. These are both areas where Murphy excels.

Kris Knoblauch relied on Emberson slightly more this season, was a fixture in the lineup, including the playoffs, and he largely delivered. If the now 26-year-old can round out his defensive tools, he may be able to handle more responsibility.

Ultimately, though, it’ll be up to the new coaching staff to give him the chance to prove it or keep him insulated.