Oilers recent draft pick now dark horse to make opening roster

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Liam McCormick
September 26, 2024 (3:21 PM)

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The Oilers most recent first round draft pick may be becoming a dark horse to make the NHL opening night roster.

Sam O'Reilly has been a major bright spot in Oilers training camp, and his play is impressing enough that he's already been given an extended look. Many other junior players have been sent home already, but O'Reilly hasn't looked out of place yet. Now, Jason Gregor is saying O'Reilly may have a very outside chance to make the team.

»But what about rookie Sam O'Reilly, the 32nd pick in the 2024 NHL entry draft? Conventional wisdom says he will go back to junior. And he probably will, but he's getting an extended look in camp and has looked good.»
- Jason Gregor

Gregor even went as far as to compare Sam O'Reilly to the Stanley Cup Champion with the same name, Ryan O'Reilly. The older O'Reilly also was a late first round draft pick who wasn't expected to make the team, but his play in camp forced the Avalanche to keep him up. The two players have a similar style of two way forwards. Sam O'Reilly played defence as late as 16 years old, so he's got experience all over the ice and it shows in his game.

O'Reilly played most of the last preseason game between Connor Brown and Mattias Janmark, and was used against the top Jets forwards. O'Reilly passed the test from Knoblauch with flying colours. Last night and throughout training camp, O'Reilly has been playing a mature game two way game and can match the competition at the NHL level. Coach Kris Knoblauch raved about O'Reilly after the game last night.

»We wanted to see what he could do playing with two regular NHL players. I thought he did a heck of a job. We rotated lines a bit in the third period, but it was a good test for him. He's an extremely smart player. He's young. He's only going to get stronger and faster.»
- Kris Knoblauch

O'Reilly fell to the bottom of the first round in last year's draft, and the Oilers made a trade to acquire a draft pick to select him. He didn't have a great OHL season last year, only scoring 20 goals and 58 points, but he was buried Lower in the lineup on a stacked London Knight team. With more opportunity, O'Reilly may take another big step forward.

It is extremely unlikely that O'Reilly stays with the team into the regular season, but his play warranting a longer look is a great sign. The Oilers could have flexibility with their roster and waivers early in the year, perhaps they give O'Reilly an 8 game trial to not burn a year of his contract. There's a battle for the fourth line center position between Derek Ryan, Noah Philp, and James Hamblin, but O'Reilly may be entering the discussion now.

There's four games left in preseason for Sam O'Reilly to continue to make a name for himself in training camp. No matter what, he's already taken a major boost at training camp, and the Oilers are probably pretty happy that they traded into the first round to draft him.