Edmonton Oilers training camp opens with the usual mix of established names, hopefuls and long-shot invites, and this year’s dark-horse group has plenty of different paths to a roster spot. Rookie camp gets going Friday, September 11th, with main camp set for September 15th, and while players like Ike Howard, Ty Emberson, Josh Samanski and Spencer Stastney are viewed as more likely to stick around, there are still a few lesser-known names worth watching closely.
At the top of that list is Mathieu Joseph, a two-time Stanley Cup champion who looks like the cleanest fit of the bunch. The 29-year-old winger brings speed, defensive reliability and a strong penalty-killing presence, along with the kind of edge that can make life miserable for opponents.
He also profiles nicely on a shutdown line with Jason Dickinson and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. His numbers dipped last season with the Blues and Kings, when he posted 2 goals and 9 assists in 51 games, but he’s just two years removed from an 11-goal, 24-assist season in 72 games with Ottawa.
His former coach there is now an associate coach in Edmonton. Possible fit: bottom-six winger.
Another forward who could turn heads is Eduards Tralmaks, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound winger from Riga who checks a lot of boxes. He skates well for a big man, protects the puck and owns a good shot.
His AHL work with the Grand Rapids Griffins last season was eye-catching, and he finished with 26 goals and 16 assists in 64 games. He also scored 21 five-on-five goals, which ranked second in the league.
On the international stage, he added three goals in four Olympic games for Latvia. Possible fit: bottom-six winger.
Aku Raty brings a different kind of appeal. The 25-year-old Finnish winger, older brother of Vancouver’s Aatu Raty, is the sort of hard-driving 200-foot player who can wear on opponents shift after shift.
He’s fast, physical and smart, and he finished seventh in scoring in the Liiga last season. Possible fit: fourth-line winger.
Max Jones is another big body in the mix. At 6-foot-3 and 216 pounds, the 28-year-old winger has the frame to handle fourth-line work, and he showed he could fit in during a brief call-up last year.
He brings a little offense, a physical edge and respectable defensive play. With Bakersfield, he put up 10 goals, 8 assists and 61 PIM in 39 games.
Possible fit: fourth-line winger.
Quinn Hutson is the name with a little more offensive flash. The 24-year-old right wing had a strong year with the Condors, finishing with 30 goals, 33 assists and 84 PIM in 67 games.
He also got a four-game NHL look in Edmonton and scored his first NHL goal. Spencer Pomoty recently wrote in his Prospect Countdown series that “he could see Hutson playing in some NHL games this upcoming season.”
Hutson has a heavy shot, can make plays, and plays with some bite, though his defensive game still needs work. Possible fit: top-six right wing.
On the blue line, Josh Brown stands out as the rugged option. The 32-year-old defenseman is a stay-at-home type, but he can bring the heaviness Edmonton lacks and he has penalty-killing experience, which the club needs. Possible fit: third-pair defenceman.
Connor Clattenburg is cut from a much different cloth. The 21-year-old forward is a fearless, physical throwback who hits everything in sight and will drop the gloves.
In an injury-shortened 2025-26 AHL season, opponents spent plenty of time trying to deal with him. If his skating and offense come along, he could force his way into the conversation.
Possible fit: fourth-line winger.
Viljami Marjala already showed he could surprise people last season. He impressed in camp and played a lot in Bakersfield, then followed it up with 17 goals and 43 assists in 72 games with the Condors.
He’s skilled, but Edmonton already has a fair amount of that type, and there are at least two wingers ahead of him here. Possible fit: top-nine winger.
Owen Michaels is another player to keep on the radar. The Western Michigan University forward is a defensive, right-shot center, which is a useful profile for Edmonton.
His skating needs work, and he’s not ready-made yet, but he captained his college team and brings a strong hockey IQ. Possible fit: fourth line centre or winger.
Rounding out the list is Atro Leppanen, a 27-year-old defenseman who will have to battle through a crowded depth chart. He’s undersized, but he brings skill and fluid skating.
Last season with the Condors, he produced 11 goals and 27 assists in 53 games and led Bakersfield’s defensemen in almost every category. The issue is the defensive side of his game, which still needs work.
Possible fit: third-pair defenseman.
In Other News...
Oilers Depth Gamble Suddenly Has A Real Opening To Make Noise
Eduards Tralmaks has spent a winding pro career proving he can score wherever he lands, whether that was in the Czech leagues, the NCAA or the AHL, and now the 29-year-old undrafted forward is getting a fresh look with the Oilers after signing as a free agent on July 1, 2026. He also brought that touch to Team Latvia at the Olympics, which helps explain why Edmonton was willing to add him as another depth option for a group that is always searching for usable offense beyond the stars.
The opening may be bigger than it first looked a few weeks ago, because injuries have thinned the competition among the bottom-six forwards and created a real lane for Tralmaks to press his case for NHL minutes. The one thing that has long trailed his scoring profile is skating, so the question now is whether he can do enough in camp and early-season looks to make the Oilers keep him around when the roster starts to settle. [Read more 🡒]
Connor McDavid Faces One Oilers Question That Could Shape Everything
Edmontons offseason conversation has drifted beyond the usual questions of depth and special teams and landed on a far bigger one: how Mike Babcock will handle Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at five-on-five. The pairing has obvious offensive upside, but it also sits at the center of the Oilers defensive concerns, especially with a new coach inheriting a roster that has already spent plenty of time trying to balance scoring with structure.
For McDavid, the discussion is not just about who skates beside him, but what version of his game the Oilers will get if the alignment changes. His 2016-17 numbers are part of the argument, as are the defensive and offensive trends that have followed him into the 2025-26 season, and a recent fan survey leaned toward splitting him and Draisaitl at even strength. The result is a familiar Oilers tension heading into the new season: whether a different lineup arrangement can unlock more balance, or whether the team is simply asking its best players to solve a problem that keeps coming back. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Prospect Situation Suddenly Feels Bigger Than Routine Draft Chatter
The Oilers track record with draft picks from Russia has been a mixed one over the last decade, with Edmonton cycling through several selections between 2010 and 2019 and getting only limited NHL returns from that group. That history gives extra weight to every new prospect update, especially when it comes to players whose paths to North America already carry more uncertainty than most. Maxim Berezkin remains part of that broader conversation, but the more immediate intrigue now sits with another young player whose development has started to matter in a bigger way.
Paul Fischer has drawn attention because his play has been encouraging, yet his contract situation still hangs there without a resolution. The Oilers brought him in through the August 2024 offer-sheets trade, but he still has not signed, and that leaves his long-term fit with the organization feeling less routine than draft churn usually does. For a team that has already learned how hard it can be to get talented players to stay and succeed in North America, the next step with Fischer carries a little more urgency than it might have a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]