As training camps approach for the 2026-27 NHL season, the prospect rankings are starting to roll in, and the Oilers have landed near the very bottom of one of the latest lists.
Corey Pronman of The Athletic slotted Edmonton 31st out of 32 NHL teams in his prospect-pool rankings, a placement that fits the reality of how the organization has operated over the past few seasons. The Oilers have gone to the Stanley Cup Finals twice in the last three years, and that push has come at a cost. They’ve moved multiple picks and prospects to add help at the deadline, including first-rounders used to bring in Mattias Ekholm, Adam Henrique, and Jake Walman.
That kind of approach has left the cupboard thin. Since the 2023 NHL Draft, Edmonton has had only one first-round selection across four drafts. More broadly, the Oilers have made 20 picks out of the 28 they started with, which means they’ve averaged trading away two picks per draft over the last four seasons.
That reality makes a weak prospect ranking easier to understand. The bigger question is how Pronman sorted the names that are actually eligible to count.
Pronman’s eligibility cutoff is straightforward: "Player eligibility is determined by age. A player is eligible if he is 22 years old or younger as of Sept. 15, 2026."
That rules out several players in Edmonton’s system, including Josh Samanski, Connor Ungar, Quinn Hutson, and Viljami Marjala.
From the players who do qualify, Pronman listed five prospects and called two of them "quality pro prospects," while also noting, "The problem is that after them, there's next to nothing in this farm system."
His top five for the Oilers were:
- Matt Savoie
- Rudolfs Berzkalns
- Asher Barnett
- Ike Howard
- David Lewandowski
Savoie at No. 1 is easy enough to follow. He has already shown he can handle NHL minutes and has the kind of upside that could make him a breakout candidate in his second season.
After that, the list gets a little more debatable. Berzkalns comes in second, and while there is legitimate NHL potential there, the choice to place him ahead of Howard stands out.
Howard struggled at the NHL level, but he was excellent in the American Hockey League as a rookie and could be poised for a step forward next season as a top-nine secondary scorer. Berzkalns, by contrast, looks more like a safer bottom-six type without quite the same ceiling.
Barnett brings a different profile as a mobile, two-way defenseman who projects as a No. 4-6 option at the NHL level. Lewandowski also has some appeal, with the ingredients to develop into a middle-six power forward winger who can use his size and strength to create space while still bringing skill.
Still, the overall criticism is hard to ignore: the pool is shallow, and Pronman’s ranking reflects that. Even so, there are a few names missing from the discussion, including Tommy Lafreniere and Samuel Jonsson, who both showed promise in their development this past season.
In the end, the exact order will be debated for a long time, but the real answer won’t come for years.
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