Oilers training camp preview: New guys battling for spots in pressure-packed year

EDMONTON — A year ago, the Edmonton Oilers were returning to work after bitter disappointment, having clawed back from an 3-0 Stanley Cup Final deficit the previous spring, only to lose Game 7.

Today, the latest defeat at the hands of the Florida Panthers is still very much a reality. But as strange as it might sound, having gone through a second summer of discontent, getting back on the horse gets a little bit easier this time around.

“Two years ago, it was heartbreaking. And you’re a little bit broken, a little bit beaten down emotionally,†Connor McDavid told Sportsnet earlier this month. “Last year was less emotional, less of a roller coaster. It was less draining, I would say.

“Everybody feels a little bit fresher, if that makes sense. It was easier to dust yourself off and get back to work.â€

And so the journey begins once again. Back at base camp, fresh off a summer of rest and training, another run up Everest with a vow to plant their flag at the peak this time.

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Two of the this seasonâ€s new faces arrived at the trade deadline last season, as a healthy Trent Frederic, on a new eight-year deal, becomes a part of Oilers†core, while defenceman Jake Walman enters the final year of his deal, and by all accounts would like to re-sign in Edmonton.

Matt Savoie will make a run at holding down a right wing spot, and has shown ahead of Ike Howard in rookie camp. Czech David Tomasek — who led the Swedish league in scoring — attempts to take his career to North America at age 29, while veteran Curtis Lazar is here to man a spot on the fourth line.

Andrew Mangiapane, signed as a UFA, inherits the right-wing sing spot next to Leon Draisaitl, the only 50-goal, 100-point man in the NHL last season.

But itâ€s not the new guys who drive the bus in Edmonton, as we all know. So letâ€s dig on a training camp that they hope will lead to a better summer next year.

Salary cap space: $225,834

Head coach: Kris Knoblauch

Assistant coaches: Paul McFarland, Mark Stuart, Peter Aubry

Key additions: Andrew Mangiapane, Ike Howard, David Tomasek, Curtis Lazar

WHAT WEâ€LL LEARN DURING PRE-SEASON

• Can Tomasek help an NHL team at age 29?

Tomasek led the Swedish Hockey League in goals (25) two seasons ago, and assists (33) and points (57) in 2024-25. He arrives in North America at age 29, having proven he has European hockey mastered, yet it’s a complete unknown when it comes to how his game will translate to the National Hockey League.

Tomasek has decent size (six-foot-one), an above-average one-timer, and the experience of a World Junior and two World Championships to help him assimilate. He shoots right, and slots in as a third-line winger who will battle Savoie for prime ice time in Edmontonâ€s top nine.

But, what is David Tomasek, really?

Is he Jiri Dopita, a Czech star whose game did not translate to the NHL in the early 2000s? Or is he some lesser version of Igor Larionov, who came over at age 28 and was an NHL superstar?

• Will Howard and Savoie both make the team?

Savoie and Howard are the two young, inexpensive wingers every good team needs to balance its books. But they have to be able to keep their heads above water in the NHL for their entry-level salaries to matter.

In two games between the Oilers rookies and the Calgary Flames rookies, Savoie stood out, while Howard did not. The fact that Savoie has a year of AHL hockey with Bakersfield under his belt — not to mention four games with the Oilers last season — gives him a clear advantage.

Howard has a training camp to show that there is top-nine left-wing spot with his name on it. In Edmonton, not Bakersfield.

• Is Zach Hyman fit?

Hyman exited the Western Conference Final last spring with a dislocated wrist and serious ligament damage, an injury he rehabbed all summer. Weâ€ll learn shortly if the Oilers expect him to be ready for Game 1 of the season, but right now the suspicion is that he will not be.

That will leave a training camp/early season spot next to McDavid open for the likes of Tomasek, Savoie and (theoretically) Howard to exploit for some early gains.

• What about Alec Regula?

GM Stan Bowman had Regula in Chicago, where the six-foot-four, right-shot defenceman played his 22 NHL games between 2021-23. Since then, heâ€s been largely injured, missing the entire 2024-25 campaign.

Bowman signed Regula to a two-year deal with an AAV of $775,000 because his Oilers are light on the right side. Can Regula find his way past one of Troy Stecher or Ty Emberson to stick in the Oilers†top-seven D-corps? Heâ€s a long shot.

• What can a new goalie coach mean?

Dustin Schwartz is out, Peter Aubry is in as goalie coach. So what does that mean for the Oilers†No. 1, Stuart Skinner?

Two years ago, Skinner was a top-10 NHL goalie, ranking T-3 among NHL starters in wins (36), 14th in save percentage (.905) and eighth in goals-against average (2.62). Last season, those stats fell to 26 wins, .896 and a 2.81 GAA.

At 26, Skinner enters the prime of his career, and in the final year of his contract, one really gets the feeling that this is a crucial campaign. Either he establishes himself as a top-10 goalie — one that the Oilers can win Cups with — or heâ€s not, and he becomes part of a trade.

Can Aubry help Skinnerâ€s east-west game? Can further maturity help Skinner find consistency? Weâ€re not sure that training camp will bear all of that out, but it is where the process is going to begin.

Skinner has the best season of his NHL career.

With two Stanley Cup trips under his belt and 26 playoff victories over the past three springs, itâ€s time for Skinner to prove his many detractors wrong. I believe he will this season, which could be an expensive exercise for the Oilers come contract time.

Nugent-Hopkins—McDavid—Hyman     

Podkolzin—Draisaitl—Mangiapane

Henrique—Frederic—Kapanen

Tomasek—Janmark—Lazar

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