The opening night roster for the 2022 - 2023 Edmonton Oilers has been set in stone! With only two days to go until the Oilers drop the puck on the newest campaign, GM Ken Holland submitted his final roster list to the NHL today. Here is the current make-up for the roster. I'll be sorting by position and number.
Forwards:
#10 - Derek Ryan
#13 - Jesse Puljujarvi
#18 - Zach Hyman
#24 - Brad Malone
#29 - Leon Draisitl (A)
#37 - Warren Foegle
#55 - Dylan Holloway
#56 - Kailer Yamamoto
#71 - Ryan McLeod
#91 - Evander Kane
#93 - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (A)
#97 - Connor McDavid (C)
A few notes about the forwards before I go into the defenseman. It seems like it's been said for the last three years, but the Oilers have the deepest forward group for the first time since 2006 when they went to the Cup Final. And yeah, we said that last year, and the year before, but this time I really think that's true. The Oilers have three lines that can score, and their fourth line just has to go out there and not get scored on. Dylan Holloway makes the team, which isn't surprising, given how he played in the rookie tournament, and the preseason. Best of all, he's slated to be on a line with Leon Draisitl and Zach Hyman, so he won't be put with a bunch of plugs, and actually have skilled linemates to work off of. It is expected that Brad Malone being in on the forwards is nothing short of a paper move, as he is expected to be flipped in favour of Devin Shore.
Defenceman:
#2 - Evan Bouchard
#5 - Cody Ceci
#22 - Tyson Barrie
#25 - Darnell Nurse (A)
#27 - Brett Kulak
#28 - Ryan Murray
#80 - Philip Broberg
Like with Brad Malone, Philip Broberg being on the team is nothing more than a paper transaction. Unfortunately for Philip, he didn't impress much during preseason. A big part of this is because he beefed up in the offseason, and is still trying to work around that big body of his. As a result, he'll be sent down to Bakersfield in favour of Markus Niemelainen, who will be called up to be on the 3rd pairing with Barrie. Niemelainen impressed during preseason, so he'll be getting the call.
Goaltenders:
#36 - Jack Campbell
#74 - Stuart Skinner
As expected, Soup and Stu will be the Oilers tandem this year. Despite many doubting their abilities, I'm pretty confident with these two, and they're an upgrade over Smith/Koskinen. Both Stu Skinny and Soup had great preseasons and neither looked out of place. And you know what? I'm going to give a shoutout to Calvin Pickard, the #3 goalie in the org, who also had a great preseason.
Taking into account the roster moves that are to be coming, here is how my opening night lineup looks.
Kane - McDavid - Puljujarvi
Holloway - Draisitl - Hyman
Nuge - McLeod - Yamamoto
Shore - Ryan - Foegle
Nurse - Ceci
Kulak - Bouchard
Niemelainen - Barrie
Campbell
Skinner
The Oilers open the 2022-2023 NHL season on Wednesday Night at home to the Vancouver Canucks. Puck drop is set for 10pm ET/8pm MT.
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