DEV CAMP: Philp feeling at home

EDMONTON, AB -Noah Philp is feeling right at home at Oilers Development Camp.
The 23-year-old was a college free agent signee back on April 5th, swapping the Green & Gold of the University of Alberta for the Blue & Orange of the Edmonton Oilers. Philp has been soaking in the experience of playing in a city that he's grown to love.
"It's amazing," Philp said about donning Oilers colours. "Spending the last three years here at the University, I really got a feel for the city. I started to feel this was a second home for me. I'm just super happy for the opportunity."
The Canmore, AB product spent parts of three seasons playing with the Golden Bears, accumulating 38 points (20G, 18A) in 36 career games with the USports club. Philp took his game to a new level during the 2022 Canada West playoffs where he recorded 10 points (3G, 7A) in four games. It was a performance which helped spur the Oilers to sign him.

Now that he's turned pro, Philp is ready to trade in the humble confines of Clare Drake Arena for those of Rogers Place.
"I still don't know my way around. It's been amazing, you can't ask for much more," Philp said. "This building is incredible. You have everything you need here to improve. I've been able to enjoy the building, the staff, and everything to go with the organization."
After being signed by the Oilers, Philp joined the Bakersfield Condors at the tail end of their season. The forward suited up for three regular season games and 3 playoff games during his time in the American Hockey League, recording a single post-season assist.
"I got to go up to Bakersfield for a month and that was a really good experience for me," Philp said. "I thought it was an awesome group of guys, a great coaching staff, everything was really positive coming out of that. I was really happy to be able to play in the playoffs, I thought that was awesome to see that kind of intensity at that time of year."

Philp is expected to rejoin Bakersfield to continue his development under new Head Coach Colin Chaulk, who has been assisting the prospects through drills at camp. The former assistant under now Oilers Head Coach Jay Woodcroft shares the same reputation as a communicator as his predecessor.
"Chaulk is amazing for that. He's a great talker and he's super open," Philp said about his Condors head coach. "If you ever have any questions he's an awesome guy to go to and pick his brain a little bit and learn from him. I try to do that as much as I can."
The goal of Oilers Development Camp is improvement for the 37 players invited to participate. Philp has been run through the gamut of fitness testing, strength and conditioning courses, on-ice sessions, sports psychology education and more during the week -- all while getting the chance to pick the brain of the coaches that will be guiding him through his first full professional season next year.
That doesn't mean the camp has been all work and no play for Philp and the rest of the prospects.
"It's been awesome, super fun and a great group of guys. They've got us doing a lot of things like playing baseball, going paintballing, and seeing Cirque De Soleil," Philp said. "They've been keeping us busy."