As the Edmonton Oilers were hitting the ice in Texas on Thursday night for Game 1 of the Western Conference final against the Dallas Stars, the future was on display.
Dylan Holloway, at 22 years old, is four years and eight months younger than Connor McDavid.
He’s also playing a feature role on the Oilers, and represents the only under-23 roster player with such high standing on the current club.
Philip Broberg is the only other Edmonton player under 23, not yet an established NHL player, but is with the team at this time.
In most playoff springs, the Oilers have a taxi squad of young talent close to NHL-ready.
The names beyond Holloway (who is the only under-23 player to get into a postseason game with the club) and Broberg who are present for the postseason run and under 23: Xavier Bourgault, the team’s 2021 first-round draft pick.
Edmonton’s recalls this spring include mostly older players.
Raphael Lavoie (23), Olivier Rodrigue (23), Phil Kemp (25), Lane Pederson (26), Ben Gleason (26), Adam Erne (29) and Sam Gagner (34) range from just past entry-level deals to nearing the end of their playing careers.
None of those names, beyond Holloway and Broberg, look to be locks for NHL employment in 2024-25.
Holland’s plan
When a player is drafted, a clock begins ticking on their status as a true NHL prospect. Most young players deemed worthy of a full pro audition sign an NHL contract at 20 and have three seasons during that entry-level deal to prove themselves.
During the time Ken Holland has been Edmonton’s general manager, the kids have been overcooked in the minors.
That has led to some frustration from players (Broberg asked for a trade) and from fans who are used to seeing players develop far more quickly in the Oilers system.
Stalled or slow played?
The genesis of the Oilers overripening of young players came during Holland’s first media avail as Oilers general manager in the spring of 2019.
He laid out his vision of the way forward and then went about the business of making certain the farmhands didn’t see the NHL until overready.
Holland did the same thing as GM of the Detroit Red Wings, so truly unusual things happened on his watch. Pavel Datsyuk played his first NHL games at 23 and Henrik Zetterberg at 22.
Using those facts as a backdrop for a player like Holloway, it’s likely the young Oilers forward arrived both painfully late (for player and fans) and a little early (the Holland plan).
When a rookie isn’t a rookie
The draft and development system has produced several quality rookies during the last five seasons under Holland.
Holloway, Broberg, starting goaltender Stuart Skinner, impact defenceman Evan Bouchard, third-line centre Ryan McLeod and others spent their official NHL rookie seasons with Edmonton.
The classic Holland rookie wasn’t a rookie at all.
Vincent Desharnais is the personification of a Holland prospect who arrives in the NHL as a mature player.
Desharnais has improved since arriving in the NHL at age 26, but he was fully formed as a giant defender with the wingspan of a Condor before he stepped on to NHL ice.
When reviewing Desharnais’ career path (he signed his first NHL contract in March 2022 and is playing a key role two springs later), it gives an indication of how long it takes to make the Oilers in the Holland era.
Teenagers need not apply.
Problems with fast-tracking
When viewing the pro career path for Holloway, Broberg and names in the system currently, it’s worth remembering some of the issues the Oilers encountered on the fast train.
Teenagers in the NHL playing against men shortly after being drafted was a recipe for injury and ineffective play.
Edmonton’s 2007 first-round selection, Sam Gagner, posted a 38-49 five-on-five goal share as a rookie (43.7 percent) while the Oilers without him landed at 47.3 percent goal share in the game state in 2007-08.
Not every teenage phenom who played for Edmonton during those years struggled in their rookie seasons, but there were some ugly numbers from 2007-15. The men who did prove capable of playing well at five-on-five, like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, often succumbed to injury when playing against bigger (and stronger) opponents.
The current under-23’s who are NHL-ready
Holland’s slow playing may not be repeated by the new manager, but Holloway and Broberg are present and available in this year’s playoffs. Their status as legit NHL options increased the talent pool available to coach Kris Knoblauch and he has taken advantage.
Holloway’s role has increased through the postseason, setting up his emergence as a key player for this spring’s playoffs and the 2024-25 season in the fall.
Broberg turns 23 in late June, and as Daniel Nugent-Bowman at The Athletic reported in December the big young Swedish defenceman has been frustrated by his slow progress through the system. At that time, it sounded like a trade was imminent.
For the organization, Broberg’s presence in the AHL offered great insurance against an injury to the substantial depth chart at the NHL level.
A position (left defence) that routinely sees four or even five men spend time during the year due to injury has been injury-free for a couple of seasons in a row.
Still, Broberg is excellent insurance.
The next Desharnais?
Noah Philp is 25. During the 2022-23 season, the big centre posted impressive totals (19-18-37 in 70 games and a strong 55 percent even-strength goal share) and looked to be on the verge of making the NHL.
Philp was away from hockey in 2023-24 but will return this fall.
No one knows how long it will take him to return to the level established when last in the AHL, but Philp has an excellent chance to make some noise as an NHL rookie in the season to come.
The end of hope
In the fall of 2010, the Oilers had several young forwards who were pushing for NHL work as rookies.
The group was dubbed “HOPE” by fans, as an homage to Taylor Hall, Linus Omark, Magnus Paajarvi and Jordan Eberle.
That was then, this is now.
The Oilers are no longer in the business of employing teenage phenoms.
Chances are the newcomers on next year’s team will not qualify under the NHL’s rookie requirement.
If it results in the Stanley Cup, no one will complain.
(Photo of Cody Ceci, Vincent Desharnais and Philip Broberg: Jerome Miron / USA Today)
