Oilers Top Prospect Matt Savoie Draws Comparison to Former Oilers in AHL

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Ryan Hall
November 12, 2024 (8:52)

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According to a few Oilers pundits, Oilers top prospect and Bakersfield condors forward Matthew Savoie has been drawing some comparisons to some former Oilers as he continues to settle into the Condors lineup.

Savoie was traded to the Oilers earlier this past summer as the Oilers sent Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the young prospect. He was drafted by the Sabres in 2022, first round 9th overall and many Oilers fans and some of their reporters have deemed this trade is steal as the upside he possesses will outweigh anything Ryan McLeod does. MacLeod has settled into the Sabres and has done well in his opening games of this season.

One aspect of Savoie's game will be tough to excel due to his size. Standing at 5 foot 9 and 179 lbs, he may find it difficult to adjust to the Western Conference which is predominately a heavier conference especially in the way they play.

There's still plenty of time for Savoie to excel his season and to shake off these comparisons of being like Dylan Holloway and Kailer Yamamoto. Both players had similar starts when they were 20 years old with Savoie having eight points in 13 games.

Prospect experts still say that Savoie is playing well and creating at the AHL level, and the Condors are struggling as a whole right now.

It's likely he will remain with the condors for the remainder of the year unless a major trade occurs or a major injury which could see him being called up to the Oilers. But head coach Kris Knoblauch seems to be interested in keeping him in Bakersfield so that he can get the maximum amount of ice time played and that he could continue to adjust play in the American Hockey League.

In the meantime, the Oilers are enjoying their drubbing start of the Vancouver Canucks 7-3 after losing their two previous games in a row. The Oilers will be back on the ice at home as they welcome the New York Islanders to town where they will face off at 9:00 PM eastern on October 12th.