Oilers coach will be forced into uncomfortable choice with 3 young players

The Edmonton Oilers are entering a must-win season in the final year of McDavid’s contract, and Coach Knoblauch will be forced to rely on young players in key roles.

That’s an uncomfortable situation for any NHL coach, and it’s the reality for the Oilers this season. The same team who refused to give Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg some ice time to flourish will now need to change their tune. 

Especially with Zach Hyman missing from the lineup, the Oilers look almost thin up front beyond their first line. That’s led unproven newcomers like Isaac Howard, Matthew Savoie, David Tomasek into key roles in the top 9. 

NHL coaches would clearly prefer defensively-reliable veteran players in those feature roles in a season were the must win the Stanley Cup. Coach Knoblauch is definitely in that category given his reluctance to play younger players in the past, but that needs to change now. 

The Oilers desperately needed to acquire some young players to extend their Cup contention window to entice McDavid for an extension. The players are here, but now Knoblauch needs to play them. 

It’s good to see Savoie and Howard at least not buried on the 4th line to start, but it is still disappointing neither will begin the season with McDavid or Draisaitl to really unlock their offensive potential.

Lower down in the lineup, Noah Philp has earned a chance in the lineup, and has more of a future than the veteran Curtis Lazar. 

Hopefully Knoblauch will warm up to giving these young guns a shot to really turn loose their offensive talents in the NHL. The weaker Oilers forward group needs these players to be a hit, and the all-important cup contention window will be affected by their success.