The Edmonton Oilers have produced outstanding young talent in the first half of this decade, but very few strong rookie seasons by those freshmen. Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway and Ike Howard were slow-played as first-year NHL players. Only Ryan McLeod (2021-22, 9-12-21 in 71 games) and Matt Savoie (2025-26, 18-19-37 in 82 games) delivered the kind of season that gets fans excited.Savoie’s 37 points were the highest total by an Oilers rookie winger since Jordan Eberle (18-25-43 in 69 games) and Taylor Hall (22-20-42 in 65 games) in 2010-11.For the coming season, there are over a dozen players who could see action as rookies, but almost all opportunities will come due to injury or veterans hitting a wall. There are times when both become a factor, as in the case of Mattias Janmark last season.Howard played 29 games in Edmonton last season, so he no longer qualifies as a rookie. Josh Samanski played 24 games and remains eligible for the Calder Trophy. Samanski’s impressive two-way ability and usefulness as a centre or winger make him an attractive option. For our purposes, we’ll treat Samanski as a known commodity and focus on less well-known prospects.There are three players who have both the resume to ascend to the NHL and are looking at a welcoming depth chart in Edmonton as fall approaches.Beau AkeyAkey had an injury-plagued pro debut with the AHL Bakersfield Condors last season, and didn’t spend much time in a feature role when healthy. He should be considered a possible recall this winter because of the position he plays: right defence.Atop the Oilers’ right side depth chart is puck mover Evan Bouchard. According to Puck IQ, his 489 minutes versus elite competition one year ago represented 52 percent of all five-on-five minutes played by right-handed Oilers defenders. Connor Murphy played 40 percent against elites after coming over from the Chicago Blackhawks in a March deal, and Ty Emberson will play third pair. After that, the Oilers will be looking to left-handed defencemen like newcomer Shakir Mukhamadullin to play on his off-side. That’s less than ideal.