Through seven games in the early 2025-26 campaign, the Edmonton Oilers have only four players on the team who have scored more than once, and centerman Noah Philp is one of them.

If there’s one word that sums up Philp’s hockey journey, it’s resilience. From going undrafted to stepping away from the game in 2023 and finding his way back, and now playing in the NHL, he’s continued to show that same determination this season by playing well despite a few early scratches. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what a successful season could look like for the Oilers’ centerman.

Philp had an unlucky bounce in the first game of the season against the Calgary Flames when a puck deflected off him and in, but he didn’t let that tough break get the best of him.

In the second game of the season against the Vancouver Canucks, the 27-year-old’s line with Vasily Podkolzin and Kasperi Kapanen clicked. After a couple of quick passes in the second period, Philp went backhand to forehand and fired a quick wrister past Thatcher Demko — who had been a wall all night up to that point — scoring his first career NHL goal, something he had likely envisioned countless times while playing road hockey in Canmore, AB.

Now let’s talk about confidence. Confidence can be tricky, but it’s also an important factor in a player’s performance when they’re feeling it. After scoring his first NHL goal, something he wasn’t able to do in 15 games last season, and doing so against a quality netminder like Demko on a night when he was making highlight-reel saves one after another, one would assume Philp’s confidence would be near an all-time high. So, the logical choice would be to keep playing him, right?

Unfortunately, for some reason, Philp was a healthy scratch for the next three games, which was quite the head-scratcher considering he had just scored and was showing clear signs of improvement from last season.

Yet, the centerman made a statement when he was re-inserted into the lineup against the Detroit Red Wings last Sunday. With the Oilers down 2-0 and struggling to score, Philp found himself on the ice with Podkolzin again, and the rugged winger shot the puck on net and Philp got his stick on it for a beautiful tip, scoring his second goal of the season, quietly reminding the coaching staff that he belonged in the lineup.

Now, after seven games, only four Oilers have found the back of the net more than once, and Philp is among them. Which brings us to the question, what could a successful season points-wise look like for the centerman?

He’s off to a good start, but he’s not going to maintain the goal-every-second-game pace that he’s currently on. Yet, when projecting a points total, we can use another former Oiler and U of A Golden Bear, Derek Ryan — who was also a right-shot centerman and retired early last month — as a comparison. Over his four seasons playing in Oil Country, Ryan averaged 10:32 of ice time, while Philp, in a small four-game sample, is playing slightly more at 11:49 per game.

Ryan averaged 14 points a season over his four seasons in Edmonton, with eight being the low and 22 the high. Of course, Ryan had veteran savvy, but I think Philp’s youth and size can help balance that out when it comes to producing points. Also, by the eye test, Philp looks like he’s playing with more assertiveness — for instance, against the Red Wings he lowered his shoulder and drove the net, while also holding onto pucks longer in the offensive zone against the Ottawa Senators, in comparison to last season, when he was just dipping his toes in the water and getting up to speed.

Considering all that, and given the strong start Philp has had to the season already (while also factoring in the inevitable periods of lulls), a successful season would see him match Ryan’s 20 points from the 2022-23 campaign — say, a 10-goal, 10-assist season for the 27-year-old. Moreover, with the hand-eye coordination he flashed on that beautiful, tipped tally against Detroit last Sunday, and given the team’s recent power play struggles, if the Oilers decide to do a PP shake-up, why not give Philp a few looks on the top unit standing in front of the net tipping pucks? He checks some boxes: big, a right shot, and one of 10 Oilers who’ve found their scoring touch this season.

A 20-point campaign would go a long way toward a successful season points-wise for the centerman. But even if he doesn’t hit that plateau, at the very least, while playing in the bottom six, he’ll need to hold his own defensively and prove he can be relied on to play a solid two-way game.

Bottom-six centermen don’t need to find the back of the net every single night. However, if his line isn’t scoring, at minimum, his job is to ensure the other team doesn’t at 5v5. He didn’t get on the scoresheet last game against the Senators, but he made a solid defensive play in the first period — scooping up a loose puck in his own end, carrying it out with poise, and drawing a slashing penalty that led to an Oilers goal on the ensuing man advantage.

Additionally, Philp has posted strong faceoff numbers early in the season, and he’s currently 57.1% on the dot. Against the Sens, with the score tied 2-2 and seven minutes remaining in the game, he was trusted to take a defensive zone draw. He won it, which was a small but telling moment that could earn him more trust in key situations.

The Oilers gutted out an OT win over Ottawa last game, but overall, they were missing a few key elements for most of their recent five-game road trip, like execution, attention to detail in the defensive zone, and oh yeah, the big one — scoring goals. When those areas aren’t firing, especially scoring, one thing the team can rally around to kickstart a pulse into the club is team toughness. It may be an old-school type of approach, but as we’ve seen in previous seasons, when things aren’t going right, a pack mentality combined with toughness can at least help the team work its way out of a slump.

Former Oiler Corey Perry mixed things up last season when things weren’t going right or when his team wasn’t in the game. Trent Frederic, who might be experiencing a bit of an identity crisis due to his first-line opportunity to start the season, was re-signed long-term to provide the same toughness element, but we haven’t necessarily seen it yet. That said, I feel there’s room for Philp to carve out a little gritty niche, and while he’s not expected to, it’s an element he shouldn’t be afraid to show.

At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, the usually soft-spoken 27-year-old has a sneaky tough side to him. Our friends over at hockeyfights.com show that Philp has fought three times in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors since 2022. Watching each one, the common theme was that he was defending a teammate who had taken a bad hit along the boards — Philp stepped in and dropped the gloves to stand up for them, with the most recent being a spirited affair last December against 6-foot-4, 231-pound Mason Geertsen, who is now with the Buffalo Sabres. That shows Philp shouldn’t be afraid to mix it up after the whistles every so often, because he can certainly throw ’em and isn’t afraid to back it up.

Philp’s M.O. isn’t to play a mean style of game, but with players like Perry and Evander Kane gone, the Oilers have fewer players who like to bring the extra-curricular activity after the whistle, and I’d imagine the coaching staff is waiting for someone to step up in that department. Overall, if he puts up 20 points this season, plays a strong two-way game, and adds a little bit of nastiness, the “Philp” you’ll see in the stands moving forward will be the one on the backs of fans’ jerseys, not in the press box.