To make it in the National Hockey League as a top six forward you must be able do that one thing you do best, as good or as close to it as anyone else.

That is a tall order for the Edmonton Oilers‘ best prospect.

That and more in this edition of…

9 Things

9. Earlier this Summer in the Cult of Hockey’s Oilers Top Prospects series, I wrote about the newly drafted Rudolfs Berzkalns. Since then, the kid has been named the Captain of his USHL club in Muskegon. It will be fascinating to watch how the big, toolsy Lumberjacks Center progresses. But having those leadership qualities is a nice extra.

8. Veteran winger Max Jones is one of the guys with a better shot at an Oilers roster spot, at least until Matt Savoie returns from injury. Jones is a solid 5v5 performer who was noticeable after his callup last season. I wonder if he gets an early shot at picking up some of Savoie’s PK minutes? If so, that could be key to him sticking around in the longer run.

7. Another guy in that grouping with Jones looking for bottom-six winger minutes will be Colton Dach. At times, I wonder if we are selling Dach a bit short on his ceiling. In a small sample last season, he averaged 0.5 points per game. So, while yes, his size and grit are in-demand traits, how might Dach’s decent set of hands produce if he plays with some skill?

6. That new eight-year contract signed by Cale Makar in Colorado and for an AAV of $20.4m sure opened some eyes. I am one who believes Maker is the best D-man in the NHL so if anyone is worth that money, it is him. But it should also make Oilers fans feel good about Evan Bouchard’s $10.5m annual payday. Sure, Makar is the better player. But is he twice as good?

5. It is fair to be somewhat concerned with how Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will fare as the longest serving Oilers passes age 33. Some are in a hurry to line him up in the bottom six and I get that. But The Nuge has built a career on being a near-elite complimentary player. And in the bottom six, his 44.8% career faceoff numbers make him look more like a winger. Hmmm.

4. With Darnell Nurse departed it remains to be seen how the Oilers D-corps will look this season. There are a few critical variables that will surely influence the outcome: At age 36 coming 37, can Mattias Ekholm still deliver top pairing minutes. If not, the pressure mounts on lefties Jake Walman (18:45 TOI in 2025-26) and Ryan Shea (18:58 TOI last year in Pittsburgh) to pick up the slack. Nurse was a career 22:30 man in Edmonton. Who gets those minutes?

3. It sounds unlikely that the Edmonton Oilers are going to go big into PTO’s this fall if at all. “There are still some decent players out there who are trying to find landing spots,” General Manager Stan Bowman said on 880 CHED’s Oilers Now. “I’m not sure if we’re going to go down that road. We’re not overflowing with players, but we also don’t have a shortage of players. We’re in that mode where, yeah, we probably could try to bring a guy in on a tryout.” I have mentioned Curtis Lazar in the past, but Bowman did not sound as if anything was imminent.

2. It was revealed just this past week that newly minted Associate Oilers Coach Misha Donskov was recruited by Mike Babcock. Donskov spoke about this process first on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer. Some saw the hiring as a “next in line to the throne” in case Babcock did not work out. But while I suppose
that could end up being true in the long run, fact is Babcock sees Donskov as part of the immediate solution in Edmonton. And when you hear the
latter speak of things such as pressure on the PK, it soon becomes clear that he and Babcock work from a very similar playbook.

1.This past week, our good Cult of Hockey friend and (unofficial) capologist Ira Cooper wrote about Ike Howard. Howard was voted the Edmonton Oilers Top Prospect in the Cult’s annual rankings. And Ira is among those few who kept very close track of Howard in Bakersfield last season. If only for that reason (and there are many), I encourage you to read his piece. It is here. Look: The American Hockey League is one of the best leagues in the world. So, anybody who puts up a 24-26-50 in 47 GP season is worthy of our attention. Ira provides insight into the growth of Howard’s game away from the puck, his attitude and work ethic. All absolutely encouraging and good on the player.

But here’s the thing…

While all of that can certainly help add up to a good NHL performer, at the end of the day? The only way Ike Howard will make and stick with the Edmonton Oilers is if he puts the puck in the net. Three big things: He needs to be able to play with NHL-level skill, find the quiet spots in the attacking zone, and get that shot of his away with wild bloody abandon.

I have limited confidence in Ike Howard making it in the NHL as a bottom six guy. Not because he wouldn’t try or be conscientious enough. But because good-to-great players are usually great-to-elite at one thing. I can see Howard improving his away-from-the-puck play enough that it is a non-issue. But his secret sauce is his nose for the net.

If Howard brings his defensive game to a National Hockey League level, but doesn’t score…he will follow the path of many other talented and promising NHL prosects that were almost good enough…but not quite.

This article is not AI generated.

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Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.

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