Oilers’ Philp Making a Case to Crack Opening Night Lineup

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The Edmonton Oilers are five games into the preseason, and Noah Philp is still with the club. He was a long shot to make the roster out of training camp, but with every passing day, the coaching staff takes notice.

The 26-year-old forward stepped away from hockey last season for personal reasons but has returned better than ever. He recorded 19 goals and 37 points in 70 American Hockey League (AHL) games in 2022-23 and is looking to crack the NHL roster for the first time in his career.

Related: 3 Oilers Standouts From Preseason Win Over the Jets

The undrafted Canmore, Alberta, native had another noticeable game on Saturday night, playing on a line with Lane Pederson and Matt Savoie. He scored one goal and was 9-2 in the faceoff circle with 10:34 of ice time (TOI). He found a soft spot behind the Seattle Kraken defence and used his quick hands to receive a beautiful pass from Mattias Ekholm and lifted the puck past goaltender Philipp Grubauer.

What’s more impressive is that he was on the ice for 3:17 of the penalty kill. If Philp makes the team, he will need to kill penalties, and head coach Kris Knoblauch utilized him accordingly. With one minute left in the third period, the Oilers were holding on to a 5-4 lead, and Knoblauch put Philp on the ice to take a crucial defensive zone faceoff, which he won. This was an experiment, and Philp handled it extremely well. Gaining the trust of the coaching staff will go a long way in ensuring him a roster spot.

Philp Injects Youth Into the Lineup

The Oilers desperately need to inject some energy into their fourth line, and Philp could be that player. As of now, the fourth line consists of Vasily Podkolzin, Derek Ryan, and Corey Perry. Ryan also had a good game on Saturday, registering two assists; however, he is 37 years old. Perry is 39 years old, so the speed of that fourth line is concerning, and it might be time to inject some youth into that forward group, especially with the departure of Dylan Holloway. Podkolzin and Philp could complement Perry very well on that line, using their speed and quality forecheck to win puck battles, while Perry finds open space in front of the net. 

Perry and Ryan may not have the legs to play every night. Using Philp as the fourth-line centre, the Oilers could rotate Perry and Ryan on the right wing to keep them fresh. The team could also send someone down and use Raphael Lavoie in that spot. Edmonton has options, especially in the case of injuries.

Noah Philp Edmonton Oilers
Noah Philp, Edmonton Oilers (Photo by Leila Devlin/Getty Images)

Many Oilers fans are seeing Philp play for the first time. The former University of Alberta Golden Bear has great hockey sense and reads the play well. He has a heavy stick, which translates to a successful faceoff percentage, and a monster forecheck. He has the ability to keep the play alive for his teammates and sustain offensive zone time. Oil Country should be very excited about this player.

He has everything you could ask for in a prototypical fourth-line centre. He’s 6-foot-3, shoots right, is defensively responsible, wins faceoffs, kills penalties, and has underrated speed. He also has the offensive upside that has been lacking from the bottom six for many years.

On top of that, his cap hit is only $775,000 which is important for a team competing for a Stanley Cup that needs bottom-six players to contribute on team-friendly deals. The Oilers have been searching for this type of player for years and finally found it. This kid has turned heads, and the Oilers just might be looking at their new fourth-line centre for many years to come.

There is one roster spot up for grabs in the forward group, likely between Philp, James Hamblin, Lavoie, and Pederson. Can Philp snag that last spot? He’s making this decision extremely difficult on the coaching staff.

Philp will not be in the lineup on Monday night when the Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks in preseason action.

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