Some say opportunity knocks only once, but for numerous Edmonton Oilers wingers, it’s pounding at their door with multiple opportunities, and we’ll find out who is ready to answer.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch announced that Zach Hyman will be out until November. He’ll miss 12 games in October, and the Oilers play three games in the first four days of November, so he could miss at least the first 15 games of the season. It was expected he’d miss the start of the season, but now we know for sure he’ll be out at least a month, and while that isn’t ideal, it creates a fantastic opportunity for some other wingers to step up and contribute during Hyman’s absence.

Hyman plays two large roles on the Oilers. He’s been the top-line right winger with Connor McDavid, and he’s occupied the net front presence position on the first unit power play.

In the past three seasons, Hyman has scored 117 goals. Only Leon Draisaitl (145) and Connor McDavid (122) have more. He’s a massive piece of the Oilers’ puzzle, and they desperately missed his unique mix of tenacity, physicality, and offensive production in the Stanley Cup Final three months ago. Not only can Hyman score, but he’s also relentless on the forecheck, and he can be a wrecking ball physically. He had 111 hits in only 15 playoff games last year. He was on pace to obliterate the single-year playoff record of 126 hits by Blake Coleman before injuring his wrist.

Hyman’s style of play complements McDavid very well at 5-on-5, because he’s very good at puck retrievals, but he also creates space for McDavid by driving the net, with and without the puck, which forces defenders back. Hyman leads the Oilers with 70 goals 5-on-5 the past three years, followed by McDavid (66) and Draisaitl (55). His absence creates a huge hole at 5-on-5 and on the power play.

On the man advantage, he’s been excellent as the net front presence, but also at retrieving pucks and keeping the play alive. I don’t think the Oilers have one winger who can fill both roles equally.

Knoblauch might have one player take his place on McDavid’s wing 5-on-5 and another player occupy the net front presence on the power play. Let’s look at the options.

David Tomášek lined up with McDavid yesterday. Tomášek is 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds. He can match Hyman’s size, has a better shot, but isn’t as quick. But he can really rip the puck. Watching highlights of his play in Europe shows his shooting skills, and he will go to the net, but I’m not sure he has Hyman’s scoring ability from in close. We’ll find out. No one is going to play the exact style of Hyman, so I don’t expect any winger to do all the things Hyman did. Tomášek offers different attributes, and we’ll see how he meshes with McDavid.

Matt Savoie has loads of skill. From 2022 to 2024, he played 161 games in the WHL and scored 103 goals and 256 points. Last year, as a rookie in Bakersfield, he scored 19 goals and 54 points in 66 games. He had an excellent rookie season, not only offensively, but also defensively, as he excelled on the penalty kill. Savoie thinks the game very well. He is quick. He’ll dart in and out of traffic, and despite his smaller stature, he’s a good forechecker. He’s definitely in the mix.

Trent Frederic. He skates well, and at his size, he can create space for McDavid. Could he replicate what Zack Kassian did when he spent 82 games, split over two seasons, on McDavid’s wing from January to December of 2019? Kassian got promoted midway through the 2018/19 season and then started the following year with McDavid. Kassian was unreal for those 82 games at 5-on-5.

He was tied with David Pastrnak, Kyle Connor, and Jonathan Huberdeau for the 13th-most 5-on-5 goals that calendar year. He was tied with Connor for 18th in points with 45. He was incredibly productive for those 82 games. Frederic possesses many of the same traits as Kassian. He’s big, physical, skates well, and was a first-round draft pick. Frederic shoots left, while Kassian shoots right, but Frederic prefers playing right wing. Kassian scored 23 goals and 45 points in 82 games during parts of those two seasons playing with McDavid. He had seven goals and 15 points in the 56 games without him. Kassian got hot. He had confidence and consistency for those 12 months. The Oilers don’t need someone to do it that long; they just need someone to do it for 15-20 games. Frederic already has two seasons with more goals than Kassian’s career high (15, twice), and he did that playing on a third line in Boston. Hyman and Kassian each play a physical game, and Frederic is the one winger on the Oilers who possesses that the most.

Kasperi Kapanen can fly. He’s the fastest of the group, and he can really shoot the puck. He played the best hockey of his career in the playoffs last year and did so after sitting out the first nine games of the playoffs. He came out in Game 4 v. Vegas and was incredibly physical. He had one of the best shifts of the playoffs when he hammered two Golden Knights on his first or second shift of the game. He scored the series-clinching OT goal in game 5. Kapanen has the most skill of any of the candidates. He can fly, he has a great shot, and he can hit, but consistency has been his nemesis. He lined up with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin on the opening day of camp, which makes sense as he had good chemistry with them in the playoffs, but Knoblauch might give him a look with McDavid. When you watch Oilers practice, Kapanen’s high-end skill is surpassed only by Draisaitl and McDavid. If he could find a way to use it consistently in games, he could easily play in the top six.

Ike Howard lined up on the right wing yesterday. This is his first pro season, and it is probably too much to ask him to play first-line right wing. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but I always try to be realistic with rookies. The NHL is damn hard, and sliding into a first-line role isn’t easy. Maybe Howard can do it, but he’d be my long shot among this group.

Knoblauch has options, and each player possesses something different. It is just a matter of seeing if it works. Not many, myself included, thought Kassian could produce like he did, but for 82 games, he did it very well. I think it will be either Frederic, Tomášek, or Savoie who gets a look, and based on training camp, Tomášek will likely get the first chance.

Who do you think would work best?

This is a completely different role, and Hyman excelled in this spot. His role was much more important than just scoring goals. He scored 36 PP goals the past three seasons, third behind Draisaitl (69) and McDavid (37), so obviously that was important, but Hyman was excellent at screening the goalie and distracting the defender around the net. He was also great at extending possession time by winning puck battles. This is somewhat of a specialist’s role.

Adam Henrique has the most experience in this spot. He has 65 career playoff goals and has nine seasons averaging over 2:00 PP TOI/game. He is very good around the net. He has quick hands, is a good passer, and knows how to play in front of the goalie. He isn’t as fast as Hyman, but he’s quicker than Corey Perry, who split some time with Hyman last season. Henrique shoots left, while Perry and Hyman shot right, so that could be a factor, although it isn’t a major one. Evander Kane played the net front at times, the past few seasons, and he shot left.

Andrew Mangiapane scored eight PP goals in 2022 with Calgary, while playing on the second unit. But he wasn’t the net front guy. He’s tenacious and would be quick to get to pucks, but his size doesn’t scream net front guy. His skill is PP worthy, I’m just not sure he’s a fit for that role.

Tomášek has a bomb of a shot and shoots right. He has the size to play in front of the goal, and he was very effective on the PP in Sweden the past two seasons, but more in the shooter spot than in front of the net. Playing him on the first unit would give them a one-timer from the left circle, something they haven’t had for many years. But Hyman rarely wandered out there. They did run a set play off the face off that saw them go down low to RNH, and then a quick pass to Hyman in the slot. Tomášek is a better shooter, so he’d be great there. I’m sure he could adapt and play the net front due to his size and smarts, but screening a goalie is a skill, and it is difficult to master in a few weeks.

Frederic hasn’t played much on the PP in his career, although last season in Boston, he averaged 52 seconds per game, the most of his career, and he did score two PP goals. He is comfortable around the net and plays there often at 5-on-5, so he’s an option as well. He’s also a right shot.

Vasily Podkolzin has an underrated one-timer, which we saw in Abbotsford when he played the PP. He’d be the best puck retriever of the group, no question, so that makes him an option. The underrated skill of being good in front of the net is having the timing of knowing when to get in the eyes of the goalie. You need good timing of when to move across the crease and time it so you get in the goalie’s way just before the shooter releases the puck. Podkolzin is a tireless worker. If asked to play this role, I have no doubt he’d spend a significant amount of time after practice working on getting better at tipping pucks and getting good position in front. He’s an option, but a bit of a long shot for me.

Savoie and Howard have the instincts and skill to play the power play, but they aren’t net front guys. I think it is more realistic to see one, or both of them, on the second-unit PP.

My first choice would be Henrique because of his experience, and he’s quite good in that spot. But I’d look at splitting his time with Tomášek or Frederic.

Who would you play there and why?

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