The Edmonton Oilers made some changes this offseason, but not many, so the roster will generally look the same as last season, with a few necessary upgrades to suit their tight money situation. The Oilers rely heavily on a few players to lead them to the playoffs, but for a team as talented as they are, just making playoffs isn’t enough. This group has already made it to the Western Conference Final and has won three playoff rounds in the past two seasons, so the next and only acceptable goal is the Stanley Cup.
To reach that goal, certain players will have to step up, whether it be those who had a down season but weren’t moved or young players primed for a breakout. Here are the team’s three wild cards who could make a big impact heading into the 2023-24 season.
Philip Broberg
Philip Broberg hasn’t progressed as fast as many would like, but he just turned 22 years old. Many want to compare his progression to Evan Bouchard’s, but he played his first full NHL season at 22. In that case, this is the season that the Oilers must see something from Broberg, but that won’t happen if they keep using Vincent Desharnais in a bigger role (from “Ken Holland worried about future of Oilers top d-man prospect, as well he should be,” Edmonton Journal, June 15, 2023).
I didn’t see anything wrong with Broberg’s game last season that should make the coaches hesitant to give him a better look in the lineup every night. He still has top-four potential and, understandably, has to play on his off-side, which takes getting used to. He isn’t the most offensively gifted defenceman, but he’s big, a smooth skater, and very calm for a young player while under the pressure to succeed quickly in a market like Edmonton.
What’s going to make or break Broberg’s season is where he plays. Putting him on the second pairing with Darnell Nurse is a big responsibility, but the Oilers have to at least give them a fair look after the Nurse and Cody Ceci pairing didn’t work well last season. If Broberg gets a spot on the third pairing full-time, that is also more than acceptable instead of being scratched or used as the seventh defenceman playing under 13 minutes a game. His development will depend on how he’s utilized more than his play, as he’s looked good to this point.
Jack Campbell
The Oilers didn’t get the season from goaltender Jack Campbell that they were hoping for, and it hurt them. His poor play forced rookie Stuart Skinner into a huge role, including starting every playoff game – despite being pulled four times. Having Campbell come in as relief four times but not start once in the playoffs goes back to the trust he lost in the coaching staff throughout the regular season by putting up poor numbers. But in the playoffs, when he stepped in to relieve Skinner, Campbell stepped up and shut the door.
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Campbell’s good play came too late last season, but that was the only blunder in a good career for him, and 2023-24 is a new year. First seasons with a new team after signing a big contract are difficult due to the pressure the goalies put on themselves. There’s evidence to support the belief that he will bounce back, and the Oilers need the starter version of Campbell, not the one who can’t make a key save. The team will rely on him to split time (at least) with Skinner this season.
Dylan Holloway
Supporting players like Nick Bjugstad, Klim Kostin, and Kailer Yamamoto aren’t coming back, which means Dylan Holloway‘s time has come to earn a full-time role. He got a pretty good taste of the NHL last season but was stuck on the fourth line, where he couldn’t succeed. There should be a third-line role for him this season, or at the very least, a fourth-line center role. There’s no question that he’s NHL-ready, and in his 51-game rookie season, his aggressiveness and physicality stood out.
While Holloway is a talented scorer, he is better known for his all-around game. Last season, he had a very good showing in training camp, which landed him a spot on the wing on the second line. While it was probably a stretch to have him start that high, a mistake in the first game hurt his confidence and lost the coaching staff’s trust in him. He fought back and stuck with the team until his mid-season injury caused the team to play out the remainder of the season in the American Hockey League (AHL), so he missed the Oilers’ playoff run. Instead, he got some good playing time high up in the lineup on the Bakersfield Condors, hopefully for the last time.
Where will he play? On the wing or at center? Third or fourth line? While the wing is an option on both of the bottom two lines, he also has the ability to center a line. The Oilers know that Warren Foegele, Ryan McLeod, and Derek Ryan played well together on the third line last season, but for a young talent like Holloway to succeed, he needs third-line minutes (from “Lowetide: Why Oilers’ Dylan Holloway is in prime position for a major role,” The Athletic, June 21, 2023). There will be more realistic expectations for him this season, but the Oilers also need him to score more than three goals and nine points.
The Oilers will expect much more from these three players, and if they improve, the team will feel more complete and ready to make a push this season. Whether they are success stories or they fall flat, all three will be ones to watch and could change the tide of the season.