Aku Räty looks like one of the more interesting names in camp, if only because the tools are easy to spot and the rest is still up for debate. He’s a fast skater, shoots right, and comes with the kind of offensive numbers that make you pause: since age 20, his NHL equivalencies have been 15, 29, 32, 15 and then 41 points per 82 games last season.
The size is there too. Räty is 25, listed at 6.0 and 189 pounds, and he put together a strong season in the Liiga. But the scoring line comes with a catch - five of his 20 goals came on the power play, which matters when you start asking how much of that production will travel.
That’s the bigger question with him. The read here is that Bakersfield is the likeliest landing spot for the whole season, and the reason is simple: the people who’ve watched him closely don’t see him as especially strong away from the puck. The scouting summary is a mixed bag in the usual way for a depth winger - good speed, can score, a good passer who can also go off script, and someone who can win battles and disrupt plays without doing it consistently.
At the NHL level, the path looks crowded anyway. Based on expected GA-60 from last season and with the expectation that Mike Babcock plans to run Leon Draisaitl on right wing, the winger list comes out as Draisatil at 2.65, Zach Hyman at 2.99, Matt Savoie at 2.88 and Kasperi Kapanen at 2.47. If Draisaitl isn’t in that mix, then the list shifts to Hyman, Savoie, Kapanen and Trent Frederic at 2.41.
So for now, Räty looks like a Condor.
The AHL lineup picture gets messy fast, especially once minor-league contracts enter the equation. The guess here is that the top two lines would be Tralmaks-Marjala-Hutson and Max Jones-Owen Michaels-Räty.
After that, things get much less certain. Clattenburg-Nicholl-Griffith is the suggested third line, but even that comes with a big asterisk.
The hesitation on Clattenburg is pretty straightforward. He’s an energy player and an agitator, not really a checking-and-transporting winger.
There’s hope he can grow into a player who can take or make a pass, but that’s not really who he is right now. He does have good hands in tight, no fear, and enough speed to stand out.
The brain is there too, so the passing should get better, but expecting him to become Ethan Moreau would be asking for a major leap.
If the ideal version of that line existed, it would be Mattias Janmark and Tucker Roberson with Nicholl. That’s the group that could, in theory, play at par and maybe a little better. But even that idea gets shut down quickly.
“Shut your whore mouth! Or you could move a defenseman up like Atro.”
And then the door slams.
In Other News...
Connor Ingram Gave Oilers Stability Then It Ended Far Too Fast
Connor Ingrams time in Edmonton was supposed to be a short-term answer, the kind of move a team makes when it needs calm in a crease that has seen enough turbulence. Instead, the veteran goalie gave the Oilers a stretch of stability after arriving from Utah in October 2025, then quickly became another name in a career that never seemed to settle for long. He went on to appear in 37 games for Edmonton before reaching free agency.
Ingram announced his retirement from professional hockey on Sept. 11, closing the book after five NHL seasons that took him from Nashville to Arizona, then Utah and Edmonton. Over that span, he played 134 regular-season games and nine playoff contests, a modest total that still reflected the persistence it takes to stick in the league as a goaltender. For the Oilers, the ending leaves behind the familiar feeling of a promising stop that ended far sooner than anyone in the organization could have wanted. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Mourn The Man Who Helped Keep This Team In Edmonton
Cal Nichols, one of the most important figures in Oilers history, has died, and his place in the franchises story is secure. The team announced his passing and recognized the role he played in helping preserve hockey in Edmonton, where his influence stretched far beyond the business side of the sport.
Nichols founded the Edmonton Investors Group and helped assemble the ownership effort that stabilized the franchise at a critical moment. For Oilers fans, his name is tied to the period when the clubs future in the city was uncertain, and the reminder now is how close that future came to looking very different. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Mourn The Man Who Helped Keep The Franchise In Edmonton
Cal Nichols was one of the central figures in the fight to keep the Oilers in Edmonton, and his death has brought that pivotal era back into focus. As a key member of the Edmonton Investors Group, Nichols helped organize the local effort that gave the franchise a path to stay put in the late 1990s, when the team's future in the city was anything but certain.
Nichols is remembered not just for helping preserve the franchise, but for the leadership that followed once the immediate crisis passed. His work laid the groundwork for the Oilers future ownership structure, and for Edmonton fans, his legacy remains tied to one of the most important saves in team history. [Read more 🡒]