One area that the Edmonton Oilers have improved in the past few years is their prospect pool.

They’ve signed quite a few players from the NCAA and Europe, but one of the most notable moves to bolster their prospect pool came last off-season when they traded Sam O’Reilly for Isaac Howard.

During the 2024 draft, the Oilers sent their 2025 first-rounder to the Philadelphia Flyers for the 32nd overall pick, using it to select O’Reilly. In his draft year, he scored 20 goals and 56 points in 68 games for the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights, then an additional five goals and 12 points in 16 playoff games en route to a J. Ross Robertson Cup.

The following season, O’Reilly’s numbers improved to 28 goals and 71 points in 62 games, with seven goals and 22 points in 17 games, as the Knights once again won the J. Ross Robertson Cup, as well as the Memorial Cup.

At this point in his junior career, the 6-foot-1, 190 lbs. right-shot centre wasn’t the driving force of the Knights’ offence. Players like Sam Dickinson, Easton Cowan, and Denver Barkey did the heavy lifting in the two years the Knights went back-to-back.

Howard, on the other hand, was drafted 31st overall in the 2022 draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning after scoring 11 goals and 37 points in 27 games played with the United States National Development Team of the United States Hockey League. Joining Minnesota-Duluth for his freshman year in........

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