On Sunday (Sept. 14) at Scotiabank Saddledome, the Edmonton Oilers lost 5-4 to the Calgary Flames as the teams wrapped up their home-and-home exhibition series featuring lineups composed of players attending Rookie Camp.
The rookie edition of the Battle of Alberta ends in a sweep for the Flames, who previously defeated the Oilers by a score of 6-5 at Rogers Place on Friday (Sept. 12).
But while Edmonton’s rookies lost on Sunday by one goal for a second consecutive game, several Oilers prospects once again stood out. On Friday, it was Beau Akey, Connor Clattenburg and Matthew Savoie that turned heads. Here are three more players that caught our eye in the rematch:
Nathaniel Day
A high goals-against average doesn’t usually result in a netminder being named one of the game’s three stars, but in between allowing five goals, Edmonton’s Nathaniel Day made a handful of good stops (Shots on goal were not recorded for the exhibition games, but it’s safe to say Day was reasonably busy).
The 20-year-old Day was at his best in the earlier portion of the game, despite not getting a lot of defensive help from his teammates. His biggest save came when he robbed Calgary’s 2024 first-round draft pick Matvei Gridin on a first period breakaway.
This is the third consecutive year that Day has arguably been Edmonton’s best netminder in Rookie Camp exhibition game action. The 184th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft concluded his junior career with the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) last spring, and will likely start this season in the ECHL.
Day never had great stats in the OHL, but he was an absolute workhorse, leading the Canadian Hockey League with 59 games played in 2024-25. In that sense, Sunday’s game was kind of a microcosm of his junior career. At 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, he’s got the size that NHL teams love.
Tommy Lafreniere
Tommy Lafreniere led the way offensively for the Oilers on Sunday, scoring twice at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The 18-year-old forward gave the visitors their only lead at 1-0 when he opened the scoring just a few minutes into the contest by snapping a quick shot past Calgary netminder Arsenii Sergeev.
Lafreniere tallied again, on the power-play late in the second period, when his shot deflected past Sergeev, making the score 3-2 in favour of Calgary.
"I'm just trying to play the right way & show the guys in the stands what I can do… There's older guys here & I'm excited to learn from them & bring it back to Kamloops this year."
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 15, 2025
Tommy Lafreniere on his first #Oilers Rookie Camp experience.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/e6BN8APGZV
A right winger with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League, Lafreniere was the first player selected by the Oilers at the 2025 NHL Draft in June, taken in the third round with the 83rd overall pick. He had a pretty quiet night in the first game between the Oilers’ and Flames’ rookies, so his performance on Sunday must have had a few people in Edmonton’s scouting department smiling.
“I’m just trying to play the right way and show the guys in the stands what I can do,” Lafreniere said in an interview after the game. “I’m just here to learn, so there are obviously older guys here and I’m excited to be here. I’m trying to learn from them and bring it back to Kamloops this year.”
Rhett Pitlick
Rhett Pitlick, 24, is the oldest player in Oilers rookie camp, and on Sunday, the forward displayed a savvy that comes from age and experience, as he drew a pair of penalties on the Flames.
Related: Rhett Pitlick Is the Most Fascinating Player in Oilers Rookie Camp
As was the case two nights earlier, Pitlick played a well-rounded game, complemented by quick feet and hockey sense. Though he didn’t score, Pitlick made an impact by winning battles for possession and moving the puck.
Pitlick is not a candidate to make Edmonton’s season-opening NHL roster. In fact, he isn’t even under an NHL contract: the 5-foot-10 winger is signed to an American Hockey League deal with the Bakersfield Condors and is attending Oilers rookie camp on an invite. But it’s hard to imagine any team not loving what they saw out of Pitlick in these two rookie exhibition games; don’t be surprised if he makes his way to the NHL eventually.
Also deserving of mention for their output on Sunday are forward Joshua Samanski and defenceman Parker Von Richter, who scored the Oilers’ third and fourth goals, respectively.
Edmonton’s Rookie Camp concludes on Monday (Sept. 15). A number of prospects will be invited to Main Camp, which gets going this week. The Oilers open their preseason schedule with a pair of split-squad games against the Flames, at Rogers Place and Scotiabank Saddledome on Sept. 21.
