Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Options Author
Matthew Savoie’s push to the Nationwide Hockey League had lengthy been within the making.
Acquired by Edmonton final July 5, Savoie made his Oilers debut on Saturday afternoon at Philadelphia, skating on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin and selecting up an help.
Edmonton continues a five-game East Coast swing in Washington on Sunday. And with a compressed schedule down the stretch following the NHL’s two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off event, the Oilers may benefit from the 21-year-old’s contributions.
Savoie, who was chosen ninth general by Buffalo within the 2022 NHL Draft, is a local of St. Albert, Alta., a metropolis that neighbors Edmonton to the northwest. He performed his junior hockey within the Western Hockey League and made his professional debut with the Rochester Individuals in the course of the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. Final yr he performed six video games in Rochester and one with the Sabres earlier than ending his junior profession with a WHL championship at Moose Jaw.
Starting his first full professional season this fall, Savoie was assigned to the Bakersfield Condors for additional improvement. And he might nicely have handed that take a look at, rating third amongst AHL rookies with 37 factors (13 targets, 24 assists) and third with a plus-16 score in 45 video games.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch is aware of the worth of AHL expertise for a prime prospect like Savoie; Knoblauch spent components of 5 seasons with the Hartford Wolf Pack earlier than coming to Edmonton in November 2023.
“We wish to give him slightly runway, seeing the place he matches in, and seeing [if] he’s prepared to assist our group,” Knoblauch informed reporters on Friday. “I’ve absolute perception that he’s a participant that may play within the NHL. Is he a participant that’s going to maneuver the needle and make our group higher? What he’s accomplished within the American League and what we’ve seen right here, we’re very excited to see what he offers us within the video games.”
After representing the Condors on the AHL All-Star Basic earlier this month,
Savoie had six factors in his final 5 video games for the Condors previous to his recall. Earlier than that, he participated within the 2025 AHL All-Star Basic, profitable the quickest skater occasion on the Expertise Competitors with a lap of 13.654 seconds. Pace is the factor that units him up for achievement. He produces offensively, in fact, however each would-be NHL participant have to be additionally defensively accountable in immediately’s sport, and pace has helped to permit Savoie to develop that a part of his sport, giving him an opportunity to construct separation from opponents and likewise shut in on them when he’s with out the puck.
“I believe numerous it’s simply fast-twitch muscle tissue,” Savoie stated of his pace. “I labored with some fairly good skating coaches rising up. I simply really feel like I’ve an excellent, sturdy decrease physique.”
An extended 2023-24 season noticed Savoie play for 4 groups, along with representing Canada on the IIHF World Junior Championship. The offseason hardly slowed down, with the commerce to Edmonton, NHL coaching camp and the transfer to Bakersfield.
“It was positively a transition to begin on the professional degree,” Savoie stated. “It took slightly little bit of adjusting, however I really feel like I’ve been taking part in nicely up to now two months. Each sport within the Pacific (Division) is absolutely tight. You actually need to be dialed evening in and evening out, and never take any nights off.”
Whether or not he’s with the Oilers or Condors (or each) going into the stretch drive, Savoie goes to be taking part in high-pressure hockey as his rookie season continues to unfold. Edmonton is battling for first place, whereas Bakersfield is at present tied for the ultimate playoff spot of their division. And he has that have of being with the Amerks in the course of the 2023 postseason to attract from.
“Going into [2023-24], I had extra of a [comfort level] in camp being across the guys for slightly little bit of the playoffs,” Savoie stated. “It was nice. They took me proper in. I received to leap right into a sport and really feel the ambiance of the AHL playoffs, which was good. It was good simply to dip my toes in and really feel what the depth was like, what the physicality was like, and I believe I’m simply taking that have.”
On the American Hockey League beat for twenty years, TheAHL.com options author Patrick Williams additionally at present covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is an everyday contributor on SiriusXM NHL Community Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his excellent protection of the league in 2016.
