Heading into the 2024-25 NHL season, one criticism often directed against the Edmonton Oilers roster is their age.
Per Elite Prospects, the Oilers are projected to be the oldest team in the NHL, possessing an approximate average age of 30. The team took a big hit in this aspect back in August, when they lost both 22-year-old Dylan Holloway and 23-year-old Philip Broberg to offer-sheets by the St. Louis Blues.
It is worth mentioning that players like 39-year-old Corey Perry and 37-year-old Derek Ryan – who may not even be regulars for the team come playoff time — somewhat inflate the overall average, but regardless, only a single forward on their roster is projected to be under the age of 27 (at least, according to their top-four forward lines in training camp thus far).
While there is obviously no necessity for a team to be some certain average age to win the Stanley Cup, nor is there some strong historical correlation between youth and playoff success, it is something worth noting over the course of a long, grueling 82-game season. A couple of younger legs could certainly come in handy down the stretch, and provide useful elements of speed and skill.
So, are there any younger players who could make a noteworthy impact for the Oilers in 2024-25? Here’s a closer look.
*All stats via Natural Stat Trick and Elite Prospects
Matthew Savoie
The most likely young forward to make a potential impact in 2024-25 for the Oilers is Matthew Savoie. The Oilers traded Ryan McLeod and prospect Ty Tullio to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Savoie back in early July.
As of now, Savoie is undoubtedly Edmonton’s top prospect, and possesses excellent upside.
Drafted 9th overall by the Sabres in 2022, Savoie played 34 games in the WHL this past season — 23 games for the Moose Jaw Warriors and 11 games for the Wenatchee Wild — and accumulated 71 points. In fact, he led the entire WHL in points-per-game this past season with a PPG of 2.09. For comparison, the only WHL player with a higher PPG in a single season throughout the past five years is Connor Bedard.
Nov 10, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Matt Savoie (93) looks to make a pass as Minnesota Wild defenseman Dakota Mermis (6) defends during the second period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Savoie additionally played in six games for Rochester Americans, Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, alongside one game in the NHL for the Sabres.
All-in-all, Savoie is a very well-rounded offensive forward, and a particularly superb skater. Considering that each of Edmonton’s top six wingers are at or above the age of 31, Savoie could eventually be a fantastic fit on McDavid or Draisaitl’s wings in the long term. Savoie has also spent significant time at canter, granting Edmonton a variety of different options.
But for now, unless he blows the team’s expectations out of the water in the pre-season, it is likely that Savoie starts the season in Bakersfield. Unlike many of Edmonton’s other players, he has the benefit of not requiring waivers. Unlike previous years, the team can now afford to have patience with a talented young prospect like Savoie, and it is a wise idea to let him dominate the AHL first.
However, there could be a very realistic possibility that Savoie could be recalled later in the season, perhaps near the playoffs, and make an impact in the top nine. A strong comparable to Savoie could be Logan Stankoven, who is a year older than Savoie and produced at a rate of 2.02 PPG in his final WHL season. Heading into his D+3 season in 2023-24, Stankoven produced 14 points in 24 games as a useful third-liner for Dallas. Note that 2024-25 will be Savoie’s D+3 season.
Currently, Edmonton’s projected third line wingers are Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown, and considering how Edmonton could just as easily play Janmark or Brown on the fourth line, it’s not difficult to see Savoie surpass one of them by the 2025 playoffs. With his youth and skating, Savoie could be an excellent stylistic fit for Adam Henrique, a 34-year-old centre with strong offensive production but slow boots and awful transitional metrics.
Could Savoie develop into a top six option for Edmonton this upcoming season? It’s probably quite unlikely. But, never say never.
Other forwards
The Oilers have a couple of younger forwards who have spent most of their recent seasons in the AHL, but could have a chance at cracking Edmonton’s NHL roster this season. They notably include Raphael Lavoie, Vasily Podkolzin, Roby Jarventie, James Hamblin, and Noah Philip.
Lavoie had a brief stint with the Oilers last season, but played just seven games in total, failing to record any points.
Lavoie’s greatest asset are his shooting abilities, accumulating 53 goals in his past two AHL seasons. It would be enticing to add yet another scorer to Edmonton’s already offensively gifted forward group, and there could be a spot for him at 4RW.
However, Lavoie has often been critiqued for inconsistency and especially skating. For now, it doesn’t seem that the organization is very high on him. But, considering that 39-year-old Corey Perry is currently projected for that 4RW spot, I don’t see much to lose by at least granting Lavoie an extended look in the NHL, as the bottom six could use more 5v5 finishing.
Moving on, Podkolzin is an intriguing player. Podkolzin has, by far, the most NHL experience out of any of these four options, and is currently projected to be on Edmonton’s fourth line. However, his NHL results are quite subpar, and his AHL results are worse than both Lavoie and Jarventie’s.
Drafted 10th overall in 2019, Podkolzin has yet to live up to his draft pedigree. Only time will tell if he can benefit from a fresh start.
Jarventie was acquired in a trade this summer from the Ottawa Senators, in exchange for 2021 first round pick Xavier Bourgault and prospect Jake Chiasson. With a higher AHL PPG than both Lavoie and Podkolzin, alongside a couple of NHL games under his belt, Jarventie may have had an outside chance to win the 4RW spot on opening night.
Unfortunately, Jarventie suffered a knee injury and will not be participating in training camp. While the chances of Jarventie cracking the roster were far from high, it would have been interesting to see what he could do. But, if both Lavoie and Perry are underwhelming at 4RW, and the Oilers don’t acquire a forward at the deadline, maybe the Oilers give Jarventie a chance there.
Finally, while James Hamblin and Noah Philip are arguably not that young, I include them here as they could be options to replace 37-year-old Derek Ryan as the fourth line centre.
Hamblin’s AHL production is nothing special, but he did play 31 games for the Oilers in 2023-24, producing some decent possession metrics at 5v5. One of Hamblin’s most useful traits is his skating and speed, as he ranked fourth on the Oilers in speed bursts over 32 KPH per 60 minutes last season. For an old team that lost some speedy forwards like Ryan McLeod and Dylan Holloway, Hamblin could be quite useful for the bottom-six.
Philip had 37 points in 70 games in the AHL back in 2022-23, but 32 of those points came in his final 42 games, as he ended the season quite strongly. However, Philip took a personal leave in 2023-24, and did not play pro hockey this past season. He has now has resumed his professional career in 2024-25, and will compete for the 4C spot alongside Ryan, Hamblin, and Lane Pederson. As a right handed centre with solid faceoff and PK skills in the AHL, Philip could certainly check the boxes for a capable 4C.
All-in-all, it seems likely that most of Edmonton’s younger forwards will begin the year in Bakersfield. However, there could be plenty of opportunity for Edmonton’s younger players to surpass the team’s older depth forwards such as Ryan and Perry,.
Philip Kemp and Max Wanner
Perhaps the greatest question mark for the Oilers heading into 2024-25 is their second-pair. While their depth of the left side is strong, they have a glaring hole at 2RD.
For now, Ty Emberson is projected to be Edmonton’s 2RD next to Darnell Nurse, while Troy Stecher and Josh Brown are also potential candidates for that spot and are projected to be on the NHL roster. But, nothing is set in stone, as the battle for the 2RD and 3RD spot is wide open.
So, what about 25-year-old Philip Kemp and 21-year-old Maximus Wanner, both of whom are right-shot defencemen?
Kemp has played in Bakersfield since 2020-21, consistently producing strong 5v5 goal differential results over the years. Perhaps a very (familiar) comparable to Kemp is Vincent Desharnais; both are former seventh round picks with multiple seasons played in Bakersfield, and Desharnais emerged into a reliable NHL third pair defenceman at the age of 27, which is two years older than Kemp right now.
Currently, the main knock against Kemp are his skating abilities, which have significant room to improve. But, breakout passing is a notable strength of Kemp’s, something that could greatly benefit Edmonton’s defensively.
Max Wanner is also a fascinating prospect with potential upside. He had a strong first season with Bakersfield in 2023-24, producing a similar 5v5 goal differential to Philip Broberg. As another former seventh round pick, Wanner has already taken some considerable steps forward, and I’d argue he’s currently a better player than Kemp and Desharnais were at 21.
Ultimately, the odds aren’t particularly high for Kemp and (especially) Wanner to immediately develop into NHL players this upcoming season, but with the current state of Edmonton’s RHD depth, anything could happen.
Find me on Twitter (@NHL_Sid)
THE #NATIONVACATION TO DENVER
Oilersnation is rollin’ out the next Oilersnation Vacation presented by Alberta Blue Cross to Denver, Colorado, from November 29th to December 3rd, 2024. Flights, hotels, Edmonton vs. Colorado hockey tickets, and, oh yeah, we’re tossin’ in Broncos vs. Browns football tickets too. But that’s not all—exclusive tailgates, parties, and pretty much the whole nine yards are all included. And the best part? You get to hang with the Oilersnation crew and a bunch of beauties who know how to have a good time. So lock in your spot, pack your bags, and get ready for a trip you’ll be talking about all season long. Head over to nationgear.ca for more details and to check out our available flight and non-flight booking options.
