Edmonton Oilers’ prospects that have come in and made a difference have been few and far between. Whether it be top prospects being developed poorly, not being put in spots to succeed, or being given up on too early, the Oilers have been through it all in recent years. Unfortunately, this is not a great way to win a Stanley Cup or sustain success for many years.
For all of the criticism that the Calgary Flames have faced, Ken Holland and the Oilers can learn a thing or two about how to properly treat prospects…this season. The past Flames teams are a different story with how long it took to call up certain prospects and how they are underutilized on the team with former head coach Darryl Sutter. However, that has changed with the callups and emergence of some key prospects contributing to the Flames in the form of Connor Zary, Matthew Coronato, Martin Pospisil, Ilya Solovyov, and Dustin Wolf.
When the Flames have called any of these players up, they have gotten in the lineup and given a fair chance. I wouldn’t say that all five of them have performed very well, but they weren’t expected to serve as a seventh defenseman or be buried on the fourth line and expect to produce, only to be sent down or healthy scratched repeatedly if they don’t. If you can’t guess the players, I’m referring to on the Oilers, that would be Philip Broberg, Raphael Lavoie, and Dylan Holloway.
How the Flames Are Giving Their Young Players Opportunities
Zary has been the most impressive of the group in Calgary this season. When he was called up, he wasn’t placed on the fourth line in a role dissimilar to his in the American Hockey League (AHL). No. He was put in a position to succeed, and that’s exactly what he has done. I would argue that if the Flames didn’t recall Zary when they did, the team would be a lot more than two points out of a playoff spot. The 33-year-old spent his time in the AHL (two-plus years) and continued to get better as his role increased. Once called up to the NHL, he just continued producing without any time to adjust.
While some young players need that adjustment period, you could say the Flames got lucky with Zary not needing one. The Flames have played 29 games this season, and Zary has gotten into 19 of them as he was recalled late. He has six goals and 14 points this season. That’s three back of the team lead in goals and eight back of the team lead in points. He is playing on the top line, and deservedly so for his efforts.
Coronato has been up and down a couple of times this season, but the Flames can freely do that with him still being waiver-exempt. When he has played, he has been given a chance in the top six at times. The Flames have realized that he might not be quite ready and sent him down without having him sit in the press box for a number of games. That way, he immediately goes back down and plays top minutes until a spot opens up or he proves he is ready.
Pospisil isn’t a high-draft pick by the Flames or a player a team relies on to produce offensively, but he has worked for his opportunity. Other than scoring five goals and 11 points in 14 games in the AHL in 2020-21, he hasn’t played a ton each year to see if he can really be a factor over the course of a season. After scoring three goals and six points in six games in the AHL this season, the 24-year-old also got his first taste of NHL action. He’s now played in 17 games and is on the third line. This has seen him produce three goals and six points thus far.
While that covers the forwards, defensemen have to be judged differently as there are only six of them dressed at most times and have more responsibility defensively as mistakes are easily highlighted. With some injuries and the Nikita Zadorov trade to the Vancouver Canucks, the Flames have had a bit more room to insert different defensemen. Solovyov is the young defender who got his chance. The 23-year-old may have only gotten into six games so far and is scratched more often than the young forwards mentioned above have been, but he also gets ice time when inserted into the lineup (from “Ilya Solovyov earns call up, has big role to play for Calgary Flames”, Calgary Sun, Dec. 1, 2023).
Wolf has finally been given a fair shake in the NHL, but it is due to an injury. He has more than proven himself in the AHL though, it’s just a matter of space. Not many teams hold three goalies on their roster, especially not when there’s a proven starter like Jacob Markstrom, either. When the Flames’ starter got injured, and Wolf was recalled, the rookie didn’t just sit on the bench as the backup. The Flames took the opportunity to play him, and he’s already got into five games.
Oilers’ Failures to See the Potential of Certain Prospects
As an observer of the Oilers, seeing what the rival Flames have been doing with their young players this season should make you question the management of the Oilers. Some of this falls on Jay Woodcroft, as he was behind the bench making the decisions on who’s starting, but Holland is to blame as well.
The young players I want to highlight and compare to the Flames are Broberg, Lavoie, and Holloway. Lavoie’s presence in the NHL is newer than the other two’s. He got recalled for a short time, played a very limited amount of minutes, and was sent back down to the AHL, where he continues to dominate. He deserved the call-up, but he was put in a very different role than he was used to.
While players should learn to adjust and work their way up the lineup, becoming complete players, he averaged 7:36 of ice time per game and played fewer than six minutes in 1/3 of his games. No wonder he didn’t produce offensively. He wasn’t given any sort of a chance. Lavoie can shoot the puck, so it would have made sense to try him on the wing of an elite passer like Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, during a time when the team struggled (before the coaching change and eight-game winning streak). While his time was limited in the NHL before the Oilers had to decide to send him down without waivers this time or keep him on the roster and put him at risk of being claimed at a later time if they were to send him down, the Oilers did waste some time and healthy scratch him. At least he is now getting top minutes in the AHL.
Broberg has been the biggest issue for the Oilers. For the most part, he has been in the NHL and serving as the seventh defenseman or as a healthy scratch. How can anyone expect an eighth-overall pick to step up and get better if he’s not playing? And when he does, he isn’t put into any high-leverage situations or in a stable role. Since Matthias Ekholm was acquired, Broberg has dressed for two games, in which the Oilers only dressed six defensemen. The recent coaching change didn’t change anything, as the top-six defenders for the Oilers have been playing very well overall, especially on this current eight-game win streak.
While it’s better late than never, Holland finally figured to get Broberg playing time in the AHL for the time being and recall Ben Gleason to serve in the role Broberg was in on the Oilers. If the young defenseman wasn’t going play, he shouldn’t have been called up and sat in the press box for so long, wasting prime development time.
Holloway is a bit different than the first two Oilers I’ve talked about because he already has or nearly has shed the label of prospect. Regardless, he hasn’t played a ton of NHL games and is young. The problem here is that there is a ton of talent there, shown before his injury this season. He was having a strong start, everywhere except the scoresheet. While the Oilers were struggling to put the puck in the back of the net when he was in the lineup early in the season, it didn’t help a ton that he played in the bottom six. Even when the lines were mixed up to try to find scoring, Holloway stayed at the bottom. Mattias Janmark even got time in the top six.
When a young player like Holloway is showing confidence despite not getting on the scoresheet, that is something to pay attention to. He has played a top-six role throughout his career leading up to the NHL. Once again, it doesn’t help to play him around 11 minutes a night and expect him to magically turn into a top-six winger. I believe he has shown enough to be given that chance when he returns from injury. He would take over Connor Brown’s spot on the second line. Not only would this give Holloway the ice time and opportunity he has earned, but he is familiar with playing beside Draisaitl and has some chemistry there.
Related: Oilers’ Coaching Staff Placing Trust in the 3rd Line
The Oilers do have some good young talent on their team and in their system. They just haven’t been used properly and given an opportunity. If the Oilers can see what is happening with the Flames and start to treat their prospects the same way, success will come. The Oilers need that from their young players that continue to come through the system.