The Athletic has started to release its annual NHL Pipeline Rankings, which looks at which teams have the weakest and strongest groups of prospects in the league.
The Edmonton Oilers came in 30th, a slight dip from last summer’s ranking of 28th. The two teams below the Oilers are a pair of recent Stanley Cup winners, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche. Here’s what prospect guru Corey Pronman had to say about the team’s farm system heading into the 2024-25 season…
“The Edmonton Oilers looked penciled into the 32nd spot on this ranking, but then they went out and made aggressive moves to trade up for Sam O’Reilly and deal for Matt Savoie. Their system is still quite light, but it at least has some substance and players I could see helping Edmonton one day.”
Last year’s top two prospects, Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, graduated to NHLer status this season and signed offer sheets as restricted free agents to join the St. Louis Blues, so this year’s list features a handful of new names. Matthew Savoie, who was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres earlier this summer, is unsurprisingly ranked as Edmonton’s top prospect, while their top two selections from the 2024 NHL Draft, Sam O’Reilly and Eemil Vinni, were listed second and third.
“O’Reilly was very good for a rookie in the OHL. He’s had a major role on a top London team, playing in all situations. He’s a two-way center. He competes hard and has physicality. I’ve seen quicker skaters, but he can escape pressure and has good enough quickness for the NHL level. O’Reilly has quality skill and vision and can create chances. He has a decent shot but I like him more when he’s making plays. He has the potential to be a bottom-six center in the league.” – Pronman“Vinni has been a player on the NHL prospect radar for a few years even though his stock hasn’t taken off as expected this season. He has been so highly thought of because of his natural athleticism. He has the quick twitch of an NHL goalie in his lower half. He makes a lot of difficult saves moving across the crease and when he challenges shooters he can explode out of the net. Vinni’s game can be quite busy in net, though, with a lot of extra movement, and he doesn’t always track the puck well. He has an NHL toolkit and could be a backup goalie, but as for whether he could be a long-term player, he’s too inconsistent at this point to say.” – Pronman
Other names who appeared in Pronman’s ‘Has a Chance to Play in the NHL section were: Forwards Maxim Berezkin, Roby Jarventie, Shane Lachance, and Matvey Petrov, defencemen Beau Akey, Paul Fischer, and Nikita Yevseyev, and goaltender Samuel Jonsson.