Dylan Holloway has not had a great deal of injury luck in his young career thus far. While it has caused concerns for the Edmonton Oilers — who drafted him in the top half of the first round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft (14th overall), I believe he is still going to be an impactful player.
Holloway unfortunately suffered a wrist injury at the start of 2021 that kept him out a while, suffered an injury late last season that kept him out for a month and saw him sent to the Bakersfield Condors upon his return, and most recently injured his knee in mid-November, only to be sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL) again when getting healthy. The most recent demotion is due to the Oilers winning consistently and not wanting to change the lineup. However, it also should be seen as a conditioning stint and test at centre for the young player.
As mentioned on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer, the plan for Holloway was to give him four to six games in Bakersfield and then call him up. Holloway has played two games already, scoring one goal and recording two points. The Condors play Jan. 16, Jan. 17, Jan. 20, and Jan. 21. He could either play the team’s first two games of the week on Tuesday and Wednesday and head to the Oilers afterwards, or finish the week and come back to the Oilers to begin next week. Edmonton is currently on a 10-game winning streak, but they still could do with a little change up front to their bottom-six. That is what Holloway will provide.
How Holloway Will Determine Oilers’ Plans
Holloway was drafted as a centre, but usually it takes some time and conditioning to play that role in the NHL. Not all players drafted as centre end up playing centre in their careers. Take Ryan McLeod for example: even though he has played centre for the Oilers, he has proven this season he is more effective on the wing. As for Holloway, he is very fast and has a solid stature which may prove to be the right build for a centre on the Oilers this season and beyond.
McLeod on the second line wing leaves the third line centre spot open for Holloway to come in and seize (or that is the plan anyways.) This is why Holloway is getting reps down the middle on the Condors’ top line, not only to get up to speed, but to get him accustomed to what is expected of him as a centre again.
The Oilers’ internal options at centre are limited for the bottom six. There is absolutely no reason to break up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid, and Zach Hyman to go back to the three-centre system with Nugent-Hopkins as the third line centre. That first line has been incredibly dominant (from ‘Nobody’s perfect, but the Edmonton Oilers are a 10,’ Edmonton Journal, Jan. 13, 2024). There is also no logical reason to take McLeod off the second line with Leon Draisaitl and Warren Foegele as it has gotten both of those wingers going this season. Evander Kane and Connor Brown are not centres, but have been playing on the third line, while Derek Ryan — currently the third-line centre — is best used on the wing.
Without messing up what has driven the offence in the top two forward lines, this leaves Ryan, Holloway, or a trade acquisition to assume the third-line centre role. Ryan is doing what he can for now, but the real win would be if Holloway is able to step into that role this week or at the start of next week. This would fill that hole for $925,000 and cost no assets. While it isn’t an absolute that Holloway will be called back up right when expected or fit the third-line centre role well at this time, the option for a trade is still there. In terms of a trade, the Oilers would be doing it right and giving themselves plenty of time to evaluate what they have in Holloway as a third-line centre before making a move. The Trade Deadline (Mar. 8) is still a bit of time away.
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If general manager Ken Holland feels like a third-line centre is what the Oilers need to add this season on top of their other needs then so be it. This doesn’t have to be a top-six caliber player. This can be a Nick-Bjugstad type that the Oilers added last season. He knew what his role was and played it well. That is just what the Oilers need for cheap since there are other needs they should be addressing. If all works out, we will be seeing Holloway being tested down the middle on the third line very soon and staying there.
