The NCAA men’s hockey season is underway, and Edmonton Oilers fans have plenty to track on college rinks over the next few months. There are seven Oilers prospects scattered across D1 rosters this season, with Michigan, Western Michigan, Notre Dame, St. Thomas and UMass Lowell all featuring players tied to the organization.
Michigan has a pair of them, and both are off to a notable start. Defenceman Asher Barnett is back for his sophomore year with the Wolverines and has been named an alternate captain for a program that always expects to be in the mix.
The 19-year-old from Glencoe, Ill., was taken 131st overall by Edmonton at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft after a strong freshman campaign in which he put up 18 points in 40 games and helped Michigan reach the Final Four. His plus-27 rating ranked fifth among all NCAA D1 blueliners in 2025-26.
Barnett also appeared in five games for Team USA at World Juniors last winter, and he is expected to represent his country at the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship in Alberta.
Joining him in Ann Arbor is forward Aidan Park, who is starting his sophomore season after a solid first year in college hockey. The 20-year-old from Playa Vista, Calif., posted eight goals and eight assists in 36 games, finished at plus-7, and had a season-high three points twice. Edmonton made him the second-to-last pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, selecting him 223rd overall in his hometown of Los Angeles.
Western Michigan also has a pair of Oilers prospects, and one of them is a fresh face in the system. Zack Sharp was acquired from the San Jose Sharks along with Shakir Mukhamadullin in the July 1 trade involving Darnell Nurse.
San Jose had drafted Sharp 124th overall in 2025, and the 21-year-old blueliner is now entering his junior season with the Broncos. He broke out offensively last year with 19 points, more than doubling the five goals and four assists he had as a freshman.
His teammate there is winger Tommy Lafreniere, who is beginning his freshman year after a huge season in the WHL and a short run with Bakersfield. The Whistler, B.C., product, selected 83rd overall by Edmonton in 2025, finished sixth in the WHL with 41 goals in 2025-26 and led the league with four shorthanded goals.
He then joined the Condors on an amateur tryout and played five regular-season games and three playoff games. Over the offseason, Hockey Canada invited him to the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase, and while he’s a long shot, he could still make Canada’s World Juniors roster.
At Notre Dame, Paul Fischer is back for his senior year and will wear an alternate captain’s letter for the second straight season. The 6-foot-1 defenceman has already piled up a major NCAA body of work, appearing in 103 games since 2023-24 and recording 10 goals and 50 assists.
He was a Hobey Baker Memorial Award nominee in 2026 and has earned Academic All-Big Ten honours in each of the last two seasons. Fischer was drafted 138th overall by the St.
Louis Blues in 2023 before being traded to Edmonton the following year, and he is viewed as a player whose game should translate well to the pro level if and when that chance comes next season.
St. Thomas is entering a new conference this season, and Bauer Berry is part of that transition.
The Tommies are beginning their first year in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference after moving from the CCHA, and Berry is starting his second season with the program. As a freshman, the Grand Forks, N.D., native put up three goals and 11 assists with a plus-7 rating in 37 games while helping St.
Thomas set a D1 program record with 21 wins. Edmonton picked him 218th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, and he turns 21 on Halloween.
UMass Lowell’s Dalyn Wakely is also entering his second college season, looking to build on a solid freshman year. The 22-year-old centre from Port Hope, Ont., was drafted 192nd overall by Edmonton in 2024 after a massive OHL season with North Bay, where he scored 39 goals and added 65 assists in 66 games to finish third in the league scoring race.
After that, he produced 58 points in 55 games with Barrie in 2024-25, then moved into NCAA hockey and recorded seven goals and 12 assists in 35 games last season. His first year with the River Hawks earned him UMass-Lowell men’s hockey Rookie of the Year honours.
Barnett and Park were the first of Edmonton’s NCAA prospects to get meaningful games under way this fall, with Michigan beating Bowling Green in a pair of games on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3.
Fischer is next up, as Notre Dame opens its season at home against Niagara on Thursday, Oct. 8.
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