Stan Bowman has worked hard to improve the Edmonton Oilers’ prospect base. During a period when the organization is dealing first-round selections at every trade deadline, it’s a tough task. Bowman has added talent via college, European and CHL free agency, while also making deals for prospects who can improve the overall pool of emerging players.The quality of the prospect pool has improved since last summer, but the top-end talent additions are hard to come by without those first-round selections. Edmonton is adding two-way players who are a little shy offensively, but there’s no one close to recently graduated Matt Savoie or soon-to-graduate Ike Howard in the system.Prospects graduate when playing 50 or more NHL games, so last year’s top prospect (Savoie) doesn’t appear this summer. Also absent from last season’s list:
No. 2 prospect RH centre Sam O’Reilly, dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Howard deal (July 2025).
No. 14 prospect RH centre Noah Philp, lost on waivers to the Carolina Hurricanes (December 2025).
No. 15 prospect G Olivier Rodrigue, not qualified as an RFA (June 2025).
No. 18 prospect RW Matvey Petrov, not qualified as an RFA (June 2026).
