A year after the Edmonton Oilers signed Finnish defenceman Atro Leppänen, the picture is clear enough to see both sides of his game: the offence is real, the risk is real, and the NHL path in Edmonton looks cramped.
Leppänen turned heads in Oilers preseason action, where the open feel of exhibition hockey seemed to suit him. In 85 minutes on the ice with Edmonton, he was on for two goals for and none against at even strength, according to Natural Stat Trick.
That carried into his first taste of Bakersfield, too. In the AHL season opener, he was on the ice for a 1-3 goal count at even strength while paired with veteran Cam Dineen, a combination that didn’t click.
The setup improved once he was teamed with rookie Beau Akey. Through Nov. 23, that pairing had gone 5-3 at even strength, and Leppänen had already piled up four even-strength assists and 1-5-6 on the power play through 17 games. After opening the year with that 1-3 even-strength mark, he settled in and put together a much stronger stretch, finishing his first quarter with a goal, 10 points and a 33 percent even-strength goal share.
What followed was the stretch that really confirmed why the Oilers were interested in him. Over his next 11 games, Leppänen produced 2-8-10 and looked like the offensive defenceman the scouting reports had promised. Two of those goals, along with eight of the points, came at even strength, and his even-strength goal share jumped to 63 percent from late November through the end of December.
By the time the season reached its second half, the production had become steady. Through 28 AHL games, Leppänen had 3-17-20 and was far ahead of every other Bakersfield defenceman in scoring. He kept moving the puck well, found lanes with sharp passes and showed the kind of creativity that can change a shift in a hurry.
The full-season split tells the same story. In 28 first-half games, Leppänen posted 3 goals, 17 assists and 20 points, with a 0.71 points-per-game rate.
In 25 second-half games, he finished with 8 goals, 10 assists and 18 points, for a 0.72 points-per-game pace. His even-strength numbers also shifted in a good direction, with the goal share moving from 45 percent in the first half to 50 percent in the second.
His even-strength scoring followed that same pattern. In the first 28 games, he had 2-6-8 at even strength.
In the final 25, he improved to 4-8-12. The early-season issues at five-on-five faded as he got more comfortable with the AHL game.
That progress showed up in the second-half even-strength goal share among Bakersfield’s defencemen, where Leppänen was part of a group of debuting players who helped the Condors in a difficult second half. The organization clearly took notice. Edmonton signed him to an extension in early February.
Even with that strong AHL season, the next step is murky. Leppänen turns 28 in November, and his window to become an NHL player is right now.
The problem is fit. He’s a left-shot puck mover with some defensive chaos in his game, which doesn’t exactly scream ideal match for Mike Babcock’s approach.
Bowman signed him before Babcock was hired, and the left side in Edmonton is crowded.
Mattias Ekholm, Jake Walman and Ryan Shea sit at the top of that depth chart, while Shakir Mukhamadullin is also a left-handed option and looks likely to make the team. Spencer Stastney played last season and may not be on the club this year. From the AHL side, Damien Carfagna may also be the type Babcock prefers: younger, faster, average-sized and coming off a strong rookie season with the Condors, even if he doesn’t bring Leppänen’s offensive ceiling.
Still, Leppänen has enough tools to matter. He’s a strong skater, he creates with the puck, and his defensive game improved in Bakersfield.
His preseason showing with Edmonton last fall also suggested he can hold his own when given the chance. Bowman liked him enough to bring him back, but the new contract is a two-way deal, which says plenty about where things stand.
The most likely outcome is that Leppänen spends this season as a Condor again, with the possibility that Edmonton uses him as trade currency if it needs help at another position, especially centre in the AHL. If he were to land elsewhere, it would probably be with a club looking for a jolt from the back end. The Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks were all named as teams that could use more from their defence.
What’s already been established is that Leppänen can handle the North American game and bring real offence from the blue line. He finished with five power-play goals, second among AHL defencemen a year ago, and his point total ranked 13th among league rearguards. That’s a useful player, just not one with a clear opening in Edmonton.
For now, the Oilers have a fun defender to watch in Bakersfield and a player who can pass, shoot, skate and make things happen. The production is there. The path to Edmonton, unless injuries change the picture, is the hard part.
In Other News...
Canadiens Fans Have A New Reason To Feel Lane Hutson Is Overlooked
Edmontons offseason had enough encouraging moments to give fans a reason for optimism, but the conversation around the front office has not exactly cooled off. Stan Bowman and the Oilers still have plenty of skeptics watching closely, because even with some improvement in the summer, the teams recent track record keeps hovering over every move and every missed opportunity.
The frustration is tied to a bigger question about whether the organization has truly corrected course or just patched over old mistakes. Fans are still weighing the decisions that have drawn the most criticism, along with the latest attempts to reshape the roster, and the next step will be measured not by talk but by whether the team looks better when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]
Connor McDavid Rumors Raise One Uncomfortable Question For Oilers Fans
The Connor McDavid chatter that surfaced this week was less about a sudden change in his stance and more about the uncomfortable exercise of imagining what life would look like if Edmonton ever had to answer the question it has long tried not to ask. McDavid has not made any public demands or decisions about his future, but the latest round of reporting has naturally put the Oilers back in the spotlight, because any discussion of his next step starts with the same basic truth: his priority would be finding the best path to another Stanley Cup.
That is what makes the latest list of possible destinations so jarring for Oilers fans. The teams being floated are the Flyers, Red Wings and Rangers, which says plenty about how little a market size or big-city profile would matter if McDavid ever reached that stage. It also leaves the same nagging issue unresolved, since observers are already skeptical that any of those clubs offers a direct, obvious route to a title. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Suddenly Have A Goalie Question Heading Into Camp
The Oilers are still counting on Vasily Podkolzin to take a step forward this season, and that expectation goes beyond simple depth-chart optimism. After a first year in Edmonton that showed flashes of usefulness, hes being asked to provide more secondary scoring, the kind of steady support that can help keep the lineup balanced when the top guns are carrying the load.
There is also a real opportunity attached to that growth, even if the exact role is still being sorted out. Edmonton has reason to believe Podkolzin can carve out a bigger piece of the forward mix in year two, and with the season approaching, the question is less about whether he fits and more about how much the coaching staff is willing to expand his responsibilities. [Read more 🡒]