Edmonton Oilers coach Mike Babcock says he had a “good talk” with Isaac Howard after the young forward came out of the team’s last game with less ice time than he expected.
Babcock said Howard should have played more and made it clear the winger’s future won’t be decided by one rough night or one coach’s opinion.
“Howie is a kid. I had a good talk with him yesterday. How he deserved more minutes than he played last game, and just the way it worked out, he didn’t get them.”
Babcock also offered Howard a longer message about how to handle the grind of trying to stick in the NHL.
“I just said to him, I used to tell my kids this all the time. You never let any coach be mentally tougher than you are.
You don’t let any coach decide where you’re going. You decide where you’re going.
You don’t let people influence you. You decide what you want to do.
He’s a good player. He’s going to be a real good player.
It’s a hard leap, and but last game he wrung one off the bar and had another one where he got his hips around in the slot. Good for him.”
Howard’s challenge is getting tougher by the day as Edmonton’s lineup gets healthier and deeper. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is set to return Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes, while Zach Hyman has already been back for a couple of games. Every body that comes in makes the squeeze a little tighter for Howard unless he forces the issue with his play, something Babcock said he recognizes.
“If they’re good enough, they’ll play,” said the coach.
For now, Howard is still in the mix. He was on a fourth line with Colton Dach and Trent Frederic, while Max Jones, Jason Dickinson and Filip Hallander were the extras. Hallander is the one coming out, which opens another chance for Howard to show he belongs and maybe carve out more ice time.
The Oilers believe in Howard, but his name is also one that keeps surfacing in trade speculation when Edmonton is tied to possible upgrades. As one of the organization’s younger prospects with real trade value, he’ll stay part of those conversations if he can’t lock down a bigger role on a team built to win now.
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