Hockey is back in Edmonton, and the Oilers are already racing toward opening night.
Rookie camp is in the books, training camp starts Thursday, and the team will move quickly from there into a four-game preseason before beginning the regular season against the Vancouver Canucks on Sept. 29.
With the schedule compressed, new coach Mike Babcock won’t have much time to tinker. The roster picture is fairly clear, but the exact shape of the forward lines is still the big question.
One of the biggest calls Babcock appears ready to make is putting Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl together on the same line. He has sounded open to that since arriving, and there’s even been talk that he could keep the two together at home and split them on the road so Edmonton can maximize last change. Vasily Podkolzin looks like the fit on that trio after skating with McDavid and Draisaitl during last week’s captain’s skates and showing real chemistry with Draisaitl.
That would push Ryan Nugent-Hopkins into a second-line center role. He’s been on the wing in recent years, but he still looks like a perfectly workable option down the middle there.
On his wings, a healthy Zach Hyman should boost the scoring punch, while Isaac Howard gets a major opening after Matt Savoie’s injury. If Howard has a strong camp, he has a real chance to start in the top six and try to carry over the production he had in the AHL last season.
The third line looks far more settled. Jason Dickinson is the clear answer at center after Edmonton traded for and extended him with the idea that he’d anchor that group for the foreseeable future.
On the wings, he’d be flanked by Kasperi Kapanen, who is coming off a dominant playoff run last season, and Trent Frederic, who is looking to bounce back. Dickinson should give the Oilers a reliable defensive presence with a bit of offense sprinkled in, while Kapanen and Frederic are both still very much players to watch as camp unfolds.
The fourth line could be where the final battles get interesting. Alex Formenton, the controversial signing, looks headed for a real NHL look, and a limited role makes the most sense to begin with.
He brings speed and penalty-killing ability, plus NHL numbers from four seasons ago that still matter here. Colton Dach also seems poised for a chance at center after showing interest in returning to his natural position, and preseason should give him that opportunity.
Mathieu Joseph, meanwhile, appears to be the favorite for the last spot, thanks to a combination of solid preseason play and the edge that comes with more NHL experience than the other contenders.
In Other News...
Oilers Camp Cuts Offer An Early Clue About This Prospect Race
The first round of Oilers camp trimming came quickly after the NextGen game against Calgary, offering an early look at how crowded the prospect picture already is. Edmonton moved four players out of camp, a routine but telling step this time of year as the organization starts narrowing its focus and sorting out who needs more runway before the season gets underway.
Ryan Cameron, a goaltender drafted by the Oilers in 2026, was among the cuts, while Weston Cameron, Olli Wahlroos and Kyle Heger were also released from their amateur tryouts. For a camp full of young players trying to turn a strong impression into a longer stay, those moves were the first reminder that every rep matters, and that the battle for attention in Edmonton is only going to get tighter from here. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Just Made Their First Telling Prospect Cuts Before Camp
The preseason roster churn has already started around the league, and the Oilers have begun trimming their own list before camp opens. Edmonton has already released some players from rookie camp and sent a goaltender back to his junior team, a familiar early step as organizations sort through tryouts, development looks and the first wave of prospect evaluations heading into the 2026-27 season.
There is still more sorting to come in Edmonton, and the first cuts are often the easiest ones to explain while the tougher decisions linger. The Sabres, meanwhile, have already made their own early prospect moves, and around the league the picture is getting clearer as teams pare down camp bodies and start lining up the next stage of evaluation before main training camp really begins. [Read more 🡒]
Why Oilers Made Their Most Controversial Bet Of The Offseason
The Oilers decision to bring in Alex Formenton on a one-year deal immediately became one of the most scrutinized moves of their offseason, and not just because of hockey reasons. Formenton, who previously played for the Ottawa Senators and spent time in the Swiss league, arrives with a resume that has flashed enough to keep him on NHL radars, even if his recent production has been uneven.
Edmontons bet seems to be rooted in what he can still offer on the ice, with speed and a role on the penalty kill giving him a path to meaningful minutes if he earns them. But any upside he brings will be weighed against the controversy surrounding his past involvement in the 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault case, and the reaction to the signing shows the Oilers are taking on far more than a simple depth move. [Read more 🡒]