When the Edmonton Oilers had to kill off a penalty in the final minute to preserve their 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday (Jan. 11), Ty Emberson was out there. As the seconds ticked down with Edmonton clinging to a 1-0 lead against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday (Jan. 13), he was on the ice again.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Oilers’ 1-0 Victory Over Kings
Emberson is suddenly being entrusted by Oilers bench boss Kris Knoblauch with closing out games, and the 24-year-old defenceman is not letting his coach down. As the red-hot Oilers continue to stack wins, Emberson is emerging as a presence on the blue line, and someone who could play a major role as Edmonton looks to make another deep postseason run this spring.
Emberson Helps Oilers Beat L.A.
In Monday’s battle with the Kings, which felt like a playoff game in many ways, Emberson played 17:06, his fourth-highest total this season. He started the game on Edmonton’s third pairing with Brett Kulak but found himself alongside top-pairing stalwart Mattias Ekholm when the Kings pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. The game ended with Emberson firing the puck into the Kings’ zone to secure Edmonton’s sixth victory in its last seven games.
“We were protecting a lead,” Knoblauch said during his post-game media availability about Emberson playing more minutes on Monday. “Emberson’s one of our top penalty-killing defenceman, and we’re in a lot of those situations where we’re defending, and as well as Ty had been playing tonight, he should have been on the ice a lot.”
It speaks volumes that Emberson is being sent over the boards for these late-game pressure-cooker scenarios. The Oilers have defencemen who are older and more experienced than the second-year NHLer, but Emberson is proving to be more dependable when it comes to making the right decisions in clutch defensive situations.
Emberson Has Made Major Strides
Emberson has come a long way in just over three months since the start of Edmonton’s 2024-25 schedule. Where he used to get caught running around in his own zone, Emberson is now in the right spots. The 6-foot-2, 193-pounder provides a degree of physicality on a team that could use a lot more of it.
Emberson has been in the lineup for 41 of Edmonton’s 43 games this season. He averages 1:47 of penalty-kill ice time per game, second most on the team behind only Ekholm, ranks second on the Oilers with an average of 5.78 blocked shots per 60 minutes, and has Edmonton’s third-most hits with 60. After starting the season with a plus/minus rating of minus-8 through his first 19 games, he has compiled a plus-5 rating over the 22 games since.
Whether they envisioned this of Emberson or he’s outperforming their expectations, the Oilers have to be absolutely thrilled with the young defenceman’s progress.
Emberson Got Start in San Jose
On Aug. 18, Edmonton acquired Emberson from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for veteran rearguard Cody Ceci and the Oilers’ third-round draft pick in 2025. The move was largely seen as being made to free up salary, as Ceci carries a cap hit of $3.25 million compared to just $950,000 for Emberson.
Drafted 73rd overall by the Arizona Coyotes in 2018, Emberson had suited up for just 30 career NHL games before coming to Edmonton, all with the Sharks last season. He didn’t turn pro until 2021, after playing three seasons of NCAA hockey at the University of Wisconsin and spent all of 2021-22 and 2022-23 in the American Hockey League (AHL).
The scouting analysis of Emberson read that he’s mostly defensive, possesses some two-way ability, and only occasionally provides offence. Sure enough, he’s still looking for his first goal as an Oiler, and has scored just once in 71 career NHL games.
But the Oilers don’t need another player that can score. They need someone that can prevent the opposition from scoring, play smart, sound defensive hockey, and isn’t afraid to throw the body. That’s what Emberson is giving them, and if his evolution continues at this rapid pace, it’s exciting for Oilers fans to think where he could be come April when the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs get underway.
