It doesn’t take long for the NHL to go into offseason mode after July 1st turns to July 2nd.
With all the big names off the market in the early hours of Monday, Tuesday brought forth fewer deals, all of much smaller consequence.
But that doesn’t mean other important things aren’t happening in the hockey world, as development camps around the league are happening this week.
The Edmonton Oilers are no different, with their camp running from Wednesday through Friday this week, albeit with a bit of a different look. While years past have seen the Oilers have on-ice sessions at Rogers Place, all of this year’s activities will be off-ice.
There are 17 Oilers prospects rolling into town this week, headlined by defenceman Beau Akey and forward Sam O’Reilly, the two most recent top players taken by the team. The rest of the prospects from the 2023 and 2024 draft classes will be in town, too, beyond 2024 second-round pick goaltender Eemil Vinni.
Here’s a full look at the players in camp, and how they joined the Oilers:
UDFA | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 |
Brady Stonehouse | Sam O’Reilly | Beau Akey | Joel Maatta | Shane Lachance | Tomas Mazura |
James Stefan | Connor Clattenburg | Matt Copponi | Samuel Jonsson | Luca Munzenberger | |
Connor Ungar | Dalyn Wakely | Nathaniel Day | |||
William Nicholl | |||||
Albin Sundin | |||||
Bauer Berry |
While the players won’t hit the ice this year, that doesn’t mean there’s no work being done. The three-day camp will see players go through “medicals and fitness testing, training sessions such as mental performance with George Mumford, and team-building activities like pickleball and golf,” the Oilers said.
For the newest draft class, it also gives them a chance to come to Edmonton and get acquainted with the organization, Rogers Place, as well as the city as a whole.