Going into the season, it was pretty clear there were two Oilers forward prospects who were going to push for NHL minutes.

One was the highly touted scoring phenom, Matthew Savoie, who came in the Ryan McLeod deal with Buffalo. The other was the recently unretired big right shot center, Noah Philp. As of January 12, 2025, neither player has made Edmonton a permanent home with Philp playing three NHL games and Savoie yet to see a call-up. The question in the last few weeks for me has been which player would see a call to Edmonton first.

Obviously injuries can play a role, but on merit of performance, Matthew Savoie would appear to have an inside track. Savoie’s offence is better at .84 points per game to Philp’s .61 points per game, and his defensive game is better as well. While the +/- metric can get rightfully criticized, it should be noted that Savoie is at plus eight to Philp’s plus two.

Yet despite these statistics, there is certainly a chance that it is Noah Philp that gets more NHL games before Savoie makes his debut in the NHL. More on why this might be the case, the continued strong performance of Matthew Savoie and all the news and notes in this week’s Oilers Prospect Report.

Who Caught My Eye?

Noah Philp

So what is that makes Philp more likely to be the call-up before Savoie. Well he is a 6’3″ right shot centre. With Derek Ryan coming to the end of his playing career and the Oilers having no other options, Philp is in an enviable position. However, he needs to do his part and there has been some wobble recently.

I’ve written here about how Noah Philp had an inconsistent first half to the season. I had speculated Philp might be suffering from physical or mental fatigue. This would make sense given he was away from the game for a year. Whatever the reason, Philp’s game seemed off as the Condors closed out the first half of the season.

However, since returning from the break, there has been a quite noticeable improvement in his play. In the six games since Christmas, Philp has two goals and two assists. More importantly his skating burst appears to have returned. This is honestly the most important element for Philp. He came into the professional game requiring an improvement to his skating quickness. His overall speed was fine, but his burst wasn’t strong enough to either separate himself from defenders or close the gap quickly on attackers. However, that changed early in his professional career where it was clear he had worked a lot on that skill.

Philp certainly built on that foundation in the months coming into the season because he looked very quick both in the NHL and when he returned to the AHL. While there was less of that burst on display before the break, it is certainly back now.

Watch this clip here and watch how quick Philp gets to a loose puck and then how quickly he separates from the opposition back checker.

He makes this type of play routinely and it will be necessary for him to continue to focus on it in the NHL where the players are quicker still. It would also help a fourth line that is simply too slow against better competition.

Philp also has a knack around the net. It would be very important for him to contribute on the scoresheet in a NHL return. Again, the Oilers bottom three or four forwards have not outscored their opposition very often regardless of the combination the Oilers coaching staff puts out there. Philp obviously isn’t going to be a 30 goal scorer in the NHL, but he can score.

Watch this goal from the other night, but in particular watch him establish a good net front presence and then constantly adjust his position to be available for a shot.

Again, Philp will not have to score much at the NHL level, but outscoring for this bottom group of forwards on the Oilers is very important.

While Matthew Savoie might be having the better season, it might be Noah Philp who gets the first call because he has some of those traits the Oilers need. If he can continue his strong play, which is critical, then he might find his back to Edmonton very soon.

Matthew Savoie

For all of Savoie’s offensive accomplishments this season, it is his defence that remains impressive to me. This was the aspect of his game I was most interested in to start the year. Savoie was going to switch from centre to wing which isn’t a huge adjustment unless you’re a rookie professional whose been focused on the offensive side of his game in junior. Almost from day one, his commitment to defence has been excellent. Going into the second half of the season, Savoie is now very good defensively.

Savoie gets a lot of penalty kill time in Bakersfield. It has really helped his game.

This type of play has been consistent in his game for some time now. It is built off of his natural offensive instincts to be in constant motion. Here is a clip displaying Savoie’s excellent habits in the offensive zone.

Savoie is destined for the NHL — no question. It is hard to peg him as a call-up this season because I am not sure where he slots. The coaching staff has a group of players they trust a lot and while I think Savoie is better than some of them, I can see the coaching struggling to play Savoie in a top nine role where he will need to play. That’s a lot of pressure on a young man given the Stanley Cup expectations in the City of Edmonton.

News and Notes

William Nicholl has recovered from a minor shoulder injury and is back to play top six minutes in London. It will be important for him to finish this season off as strong as he began. He has fallen slightly off a point per game average, but could be due to him protecting the injury.

Connor Clattenburg had a match penalty this week for a hit to the head. It was a penalty, although in the professional ranks, I expect it would be a less severe penalty. Clattenburg has a pro build and plays a heavy pro style game. His skating makes him a cinch to play AHL minutes next season. It will be his puck skills that require the work.

Eemil Vinni has made it back to the top league in Finland. He has played in one game and had a tough go giving up three goals on eight shots. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see him back in the top league and hopefully he will get some additional playing time.

That is all for this week folks. As always, please leave your feedback right here. Thanks for reading and see you around the rink.