Ty Emberson enters the 2026-27 season in a familiar kind of spot: useful, steady, and fighting to make sure he stays in the lineup every night.
The Oilers’ blue line has some competition heading into training camp, with Emberson, Shakir Mukhamadullin and Spencer Stastney battling for the final two roster spots. Only one of them is expected to land in the top six and see consistent ice time, and Emberson’s right-handed shot gives him a real edge. Mukhamadullin can play both sides, though, so if Emberson slips, there’s a path for someone else to take that job.
That’s why the best version of this season starts with Emberson winning the role out of camp and holding it. If that happens, he could get into at least 70 games and give Edmonton the kind of quiet stability coaches love.
His offense isn’t the selling point - it never has been - but four goals and 15 points would be a strong outcome and would set career highs in both categories. He’s 26, he’s a career minus-10, and he finished minus-1 last season, so becoming a plus player would be a meaningful step.
There’s more to his game than just staying out of the way, too. Emberson has carved out a real penalty-killing role, logging 92:33 shorthanded last season.
That ranked sixth on the team and fourth among Edmonton defencemen, even though it was down from 150:01 in 2024-25. With Darnell Nurse gone and Ryan Shea brought in, the Oilers don’t look like a team that will lean harder on Emberson in that department.
Still, cracking 100 shorthanded minutes would count as a good season for him, especially if Edmonton really does spread those duties around.
The physical side matters just as much. Emberson finished with 107 hits last season, good for fourth on the team and second among defencemen, while averaging 5.74 hits per 60 minutes.
Nurse led that part of the defence corps before leaving, and Edmonton has to replace that edge somewhere. Emberson can help there.
He’s willing to play hard, he’s willing to mix it up, and if he turns up the physicality, it becomes harder for the coaching staff to sit him.
The downside isn’t dramatic, but it is real. If Emberson doesn’t win the camp battle, he could end up as the seventh defenceman behind Stastney or Mukhamadullin.
He’s too valuable to put on waivers, but sitting in the press box for long stretches wouldn’t be ideal either. And if he falls below 50 games, scores only one goal, and finishes with fewer than 10 points, that would be a major disappointment for a player whose job is built around reliability.
Edmonton also needs him to be on the right side of the puck. The Oilers are an offensive team, so Emberson has to help drive more goals for than against when he’s out there. He needs to limit chances against, play above average defensively, and chip in when the play turns the other way, especially in transition.
As for who he’ll skate with, last season’s most common partner was Brett Kulak before Kulak was traded in December. After that, Emberson spent 224:58 with Stastney, 194:09 with Nurse and 160:02 with Jake Walman at 5-on-5.
With Kulak and Nurse gone, Walman would be the natural fit on the third pair, but Walman is also headed for a bigger role and should see plenty of top-four minutes. That opens the door for Shea to slide in there instead.
The bigger picture is simple: Emberson has already shown he can work with different partners, and Edmonton’s defence mix figures to keep shifting through the season. The Oilers have options, and that flexibility could shape how often Emberson stays in the lineup and where he lands when the dust settles.
In Other News...
Oilers Get An Early Sign Of How Babcock May Change The Room
Before the on-ice results start telling the real story, the Oilers are already getting a sense of what Mike Babcock might mean behind the scenes. Leon Draisaitl has been among the first to react to the new coachs presence, and the early read is less about systems than tone. For a room that has dealt with its share of scrutiny and expectations, the first impression is that Babcock is not wasting time softening the message.
Draisaitls comments suggest the leadership group was looking for something more direct, more pointed, and less wrapped in coach-speak. The appeal, at least in this early stage, is simple: say it plainly and let the room handle it. Whether that approach sticks over the long haul will matter far more once the seasons pressure starts building, but the Oilers already have a clue about how Babcock intends to operate. [Read more 🡒]
McDavid Just Reignited A Huge Oilers Debate Before The Season
Connor McDavid reopened one of the oldest Oilers questions this week as Edmonton heads into a new season with Mike Babcock behind the bench. The debate over whether McDavid and Leon Draisaitl should drive the same line or be separated has followed this team for years, and it remains one of the defining tactical choices facing the staff as training camp unfolds.
McDavid made clear he wants more consistency in the forward combinations if the lineup can allow it, even while stressing that those calls belong to the coaches. There was no ambiguity about the bigger picture, either: the Oilers are chasing a Stanley Cup, and McDavid said the group has put ego aside in pursuit of that goal, which is exactly the kind of mindset this roster will need as the decisions start to get made. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Still Have One Line Problem Bowman Cant Ignore
The Oilers added Alex Formenton to give their fourth line more speed and help the penalty kill, a sensible depth move for a team that knows every detail matters in a long playoff chase. But the bigger issue still sits higher in the lineup, where the current second-line look of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman and Ike Howard leaves Edmonton with a unit that leans either on players past their peak or one still learning the league.
That is where Stan Bowmans real work appears headed next. Edmonton can survive with extra pace on the bottom six, but it is much harder to win the West without another legitimate top-six weapon, and the Oilers are being pushed toward finding a true difference-maker rather than hoping the current mix can hold up against elite opposition. [Read more 🡒]