ROOKIE CAMP: Savoie hoping to use versatility to his advantage in second pro season

EDMONTON, AB – “I think it’s a great opportunity,” Oilers prospect Matt Savoie said from Oilers Rookie Camp on Thursday.

“I'm really motivated this year to be a full-time player and to be a contributor night in and night out, so I think I had a really big summer and I'm looking to have a really big Training Camp here.”

The 21-year-old forward is feeling even more at home with his hometown Edmonton Oilers this year going into his second full professional season wearing Blue & Orange after learning the ropes and becoming a more versatile player over a successful campaign in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors.

“I think it just adds more confidence, more comfort within the organization,” he said. “I know everybody. I have a better feel for everything. I think last year coming into Camp, I was pretty nervous and getting my feet wet early. This year, I think it's more just comfort and the belief that I can do something special and be a contributor.”

Savoie’s successful campaign in Bakersfield has the local product on the right path to being a full-time NHL player and contributor for the Oilers in 2025-26, thanks in large part to his growth on the defensive side and as a penalty killer to go along with his offensive acumen as a dangerous shooter and playmaker.

Over 66 games with the Condors that saw him post 19 goals and 35 assists for 54 points, Savoie learned plenty of lessons about surviving and thriving at the pro level that he’s excited to apply during what he and Oil Country both hope will be a breakout year for him in the NHL.

“I think just continuing to get bigger and faster,” Savoie said of his off-season goals. “Making the jump to the NHL is a big step, playing against bigger guys, so I think just being able to compete physically was a key factor, and I think I did a good job of that.

“There are a lot of details in my game that I'm looking to transfer into Camp and build on.”

Despite growing up in St. Albert, there was a sense of unfamiliarity for Savoie going into his first year with the Oilers in 2024 following his offseason trade from the Buffalo Sabres in a deal involving Ryan McLeod and Ty Tullio, while carrying expectations as the ninth-overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft.

Savoie came to the Oilers with only nine games of professional experience (one being his NHL debut) after a standout junior career, winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup with Moose Jaw as WHL champions in 2024 to make it to the Memorial Cup and impressing with 75 points (30 goals) in only 46 total games with the Warriors.

Early last season in the AHL, Condors head coach Colin Chaulk said that Savoie was struggling offensively but satisfied the proper details defensively at both even strength and on the penalty kill before finding his offensive touch again as his game began to take shape at the professional level.

That included using his hockey IQ and skating ability to be an effective penalty killer, while showing a commitment to blocking shots – no matter what the score was – as recalled by Chaulk in a game against the Calgary Wranglers early in the season when the game was out of reach in the third period.

“I will say that young man embraced it, and one of the real defining moments was an early road trip in Calgary. We were losing the game 4-1. The game was over. There were seven or eight minutes left, and Matt got down in front of a shot,” Chaulk said. “Which was like, ‘Okay, wow. He really wants to do the hard things’, and that was just a moment that I remember, and he knows that story.

“Moments like that, the player has to meet you halfway, and they ought to want to do it.”

Savoie had recorded 37 points in 45 AHL games with Bakersfield before being called up to the Oilers for a five-game Eastern road trip following the 4 Nations Face-Off break, playing in four games and showing flashes of his skill and tenacity to pick up his first career point on a terrific forecheck and dish to Leon Draisaitl in a 6-3 defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers.

After experiencing growing pains and being pointless in his next three contests, Savoie went back to Bakersfield and posted 17 points in his next 21 outings to finish second in points on the Condors behind veteran and captain Seth Griffith.

The 21-year-old continued to take major strides in his game away from the puck, growing as a versatile defender and effective penalty killer – boasting a two-way approach that Savoie said was fostered by his former Winnipeg Ice bench boss James Patrick and reinforced in Bakersfield last season by Chaulk and assistant coach Keith McCambridge.

All of those traits are things that Savoie thinks will help him transition better to the NHL and help him stand out at Oilers Rookie Camp this weekend.

“That's been a big part of my game going back to my junior days,” Savoie said. “I think I'm a really effective penalty killer just because of my legs and the way I think the game. I have a lot of experience with the power play; sometimes, I can pre-read some of the things that the offensive guys are thinking. I think I'm quick on plays and I can break stuff up, so I think I'm a good penalty killer and can help out up here.”

Savoie also took more reps as a winger to help build up his versatility, which can help him thrive at the NHL level next to Oilers like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins if he can earn the opportunity coming out of Rookie Camp and Main Camp.

“I've definitely shifted gears a little bit, but I think wherever the team sees me and needs a fit, I can play wherever,” he said. I have a lot of experience at centre, so I feel like I can play in the D zone, low guy or high guy, and be a very versatile player out there. I think that's one of my biggest strengths.”