Savoie, Howard expected to inject Oilers with ‘youthful enthusiasm’

EDMONTON -- Matt Savoie and Isaac Howard are being expected by the Edmonton Oilers to provide a youthful injection to their veteran lineup this season.

With an otherwise experienced group, it’s welcomed from a team aiming to reach the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight time.

Savoie and Howard should keep things fresh.

“I thought at times last year it was a little stale, and you can have that with older teams that kind of have one eye looking ahead to the playoffs,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said Thursday. “You can have some monotonous days, and I felt that last year. Having some new faces and some young blood and playing with new guys can be exciting.”

Savoie and Howard are highly touted forwards who will try to make a successful transition from the American Hockey League and NCAA, respectively. They will get an opportunity to make good first impressions when the Oilers open the preseason with split-squad games against the Calgary Flames here at Rogers Place and Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Sunday (8 p.m. ET).

“It can be a grind getting through 82 games, so I think having some players that haven’t experienced it before is good,” Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said. “They haven’t played in the NHL, so every building they go to it’s a new experience and they’re just excited to go play a road game in Calgary.

“I think what we’re looking for from them, I think some of that youthful enthusiasm can be contagious to our group.”

Savoie, 21, had 54 points (19 goals, 35 assists) in 66 AHL games with Bakersfield and one assist in four games with Edmonton last season.

Howard, 21, had 52 points (26 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games for Michigan State University in 2024-25 and won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in men’s college hockey.

Edmonton is returning the bulk of its lineup after losing to the Florida Panthers in the Final for the second consecutive season. The Oilers lost in six games to the Panthers last season and seven in 2024.

“I think there’s a great opportunity here,” Savoie said. “I’m really motivated this year to be a full-time player and be a contributor night in and night out. I think I had a really big summer and I’m looking forward to having a really big training camp here.”

A native of St. Albert, Alberta, a suburb of Edmonton, Savoie was an offensive juggernaut in the Western Hockey League before making the jump to the AHL. He was selected in the first round (No. 9) by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2022 NHL Draft and acquired by the Oilers in a trade on July 5, 2024.

“I think last year coming into training camp, I was pretty nervous getting my feet wet early,” Savoie said. “This year, I think it’s more comfortability and belief that I can do something special this year and be a contributor.”

Howard was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 8 and signed a three-year, entry-level contract the same day. He was a first-round pick (No. 31) by Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft and was set to return to Michigan State for his senior year before being traded to the Oilers.

“I was definitely in a unique situation,” Howard said. “Part of me felt that I was ready and I wanted to play in the NHL. At the same time, I was blessed to have such a good team at Michigan State and in the grand scheme of it, I was ready to go back for another year, be there with my guys and have a chance at a national championship.

“I kind of looked at it as a win-win situation and was fortunate enough to get traded and ended up in a good spot here.”

Expectations are high for the two rookies heading into this season, but the Oilers will be patient with them as they navigate life in the NHL. As one of the top offensive teams led by McDavid and center Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers do not need Savoie and Howard to make significant offensive contributions out of the gate.

“There is going to be a learning curve because they’re playing against much better players now than they were in the American League or the NCAA,” Bowman said. “So, everything they were able to do last year will be harder, but the flip side is they’re going to be playing with much better players than they were playing with. Where does that net out? I guess we have to wait and see.”

Through the start of the season, Savoie and Howard are expected to be given limited roles and put into situations to succeed.

Savoie developed into an effective penalty killer with Bakersfield and will be given that opportunity in Edmonton.

“I think it’s really important that they’re in a good spot,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We want to build them up that hopefully down the road, at Christmastime, playoff time, whenever it is, when they are ready to get up into a prominent role they can, because we want them to get there.”