October 3, 2022 by Ryan Lotsberg

The Oilers made nine cuts heading into the final week of the preseason. Xavier Bourgualt, Noah Philp, Michael Kesselring, Phil Kemp, and Olivier Rodrigue were assigned to Bakersfield. Luke Esposito and Alex Peters were released from their professional tryouts and sent to Bakersfield. Greg McKegg was placed on waivers for the purpose of being reassigned to Bakersfield, which will happen should he clear waivers on Monday. Seth Griffith was placed on waivers on Saturday and he cleared on Sunday, which means he will also be heading to Bakersfield.

The final roster hasn’t been set and there are still three preseason games left this week. The Oilers will resume preseason action once the dust settles after all of those cuts tonight when they host the Canucks at 7 PM at Rogers Place. A lot of players have left camp, but here are some things to watch this week based on who is left at camp. Here are the players remaining at camp after this weekend’s cuts:

Kane – McDavid – Yamamoto

Hyman – Draisaitl – Puljujarvi

Nugent-Hopkins  – McLeod – Foegele

Janmark – Shore – Ryan

Holloway – Malone – Virtanen

Benson – Hamblin

Nurse – Ceci

Kulak – Bouchard

Broberg – Barrie

Murray – Samorukov

Niemelainen – Demers

Campbell

Skinner

Pickard

I have no idea how the bottom six will shake out. Ken Holland has said that Dylan Holloway will only make the team if he will be playing more than six or seven minutes per night. Holloway has had a great camp so far. He looks like he belongs in the NHL, and he didn’t look entirely out of place while facing a strong NHL lineup in Calgary. He will get an opportunity to play on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman tonight. That says a lot about where he stands.

The problem for Holloway is the veteran line of Mattias Janmark, Devin Shore, and Derek Ryan. My initial projection had Shore and one of Janmark or Ryan being buried in Bakersfield. Shore didn’t play in the playoffs last year and hasn’t done much to dig himself out of Jay Woodcroft’s dog house thus far in camp, but he has been getting better in every game. Janmark is a strong forechecker that’s getting used to life on a new team in his first camp with the Oilers. Ryan is 35 years old, but he’s a right shot that can win draws and kill penalties. Janmark and Ryan are both solid pieces of a good bottom six, and it would be a shame to not have one of them in the lineup consistently because of the salary cap.

Burying two out of those three players would create roster spots for Holloway and one other player. Brad Malone got into a couple of playoff games last year and has Woodcroft’s respect. He’s a guy that you can put in a fourth line centre role and know exactly what you’ll get. 

Woodcroft is also familiar with Tyler Benson and James Hamblin. Benson got into 29 NHL games last year, but he had a limited impact. He didn’t dress for many games once Woodcroft took over last season. Benson has looked noticeably quicker in this camp, he’s been hitting everything that moves, he’s playing with an edge, and he scored a goal against the Jets on Saturday night. Woodcroft was complimentary of Benson’s camp today. He spoke more glowingly of Benson than he did of anyone else that was brought up in today’s press conference.

Woodcroft said that he expects Hamblin to play in NHL games at some point this season earlier in camp. He’s high on Hamblin, as he should be. Hamblin has speed and tenacity. He’s got the hands to go with it as well. Hamblin’s biggest issue is fighting his way through all of the competition for ice time in Edmonton.

Finally, there’s Jake Virtanen. Virtanen hasn’t done much with his opportunity to get back into the NHL. He has been underwhelming. He’s the slowest skater of the players competing for bottom six spots, and he hasn’t been overly physical. He hasn’t been able to hit the net on many of the shot opportunities that he has had. I don’t think he’s done enough to earn a contract, but he’s going to get at least one more opportunity this week. He will draw into tonight’s game against the Canucks. Woodcroft said that he’s had a good camp, which is what he said about every player that he was asked about today. He also said that it’s “incumbent upon him to have a good game” tonight, which seems somewhat ominous for Virtanen.

The picture is a bit more clear on the back end. I think that it will take a spectacular week of play from any defenceman on the outside looking in to make the roster. Holland said that Philip Broberg would have to play his way off the team to not make the roster. I think Broberg has another level, but I don’t think he’s been bad enough to warrant having him start the season in Bakersfield.

I also think that Ryan Murray was signed for a reason. He was brought in to provide veteran depth; but we know that Woodcroft loves to use seven defencemen and eleven forwards in many games. Murray can play anywhere in the bottom four. He’s an excellent seventh defenceman to have on the roster.

The two guys that could potentially earn a spot on the back end would be Markus Niemelainen and Jason Demers. Niemelainen brings a physical element that not many players have anymore, and he did improve his puck skills this summer. However, he has struggled in his last couple of appearances. The hitting is good, but he needs to improve his defending before he makes the NHL for good.

Demers is on the back nine of his career. He’s experienced, but he has also struggled in his last couple of outings. He scored a powerplay goal on Saturday night, but that has been the lone bright spot in his camp by my eye. I could see him earning a contract, but that contract would see him playing in Bakersfield and being a potential call-up in case of injury.

Dmitri Samorukov’s situation is a bit more interesting. He hasn’t had a stellar camp, but he’s an exciting prospect. He would need to clear waivers before being sent back to Bakersfield. That’s likely why he’s still in camp at this point. The Oilers want to be really sure about where he is as a player before risking losing him on the waiver wire. I don’t see how he can start the season in Edmonton though. Woodcroft simply said that Samorukov has had a good camp when he was asked about him today. That says a lot in my opinion.

You can watch these battles play out tonight, Wednesday, and Friday this week.