The Edmonton Oilers are well underway with their 2025 training camp, which began on September 17 with medical and fitness testing at Rogers Place. Head Coach Kris Knoblauch, along with his assistant coaches, are putting the 55 players through rigorous on-ice sessions at both Rogers Place and the Downtown Community Arena. This year's camp features 6 goalies, 16 defensemen, and 33 forwards.
The Oilers have already started trimming their training camp roster, reducing it by 14 players ahead of their preseason game against the Winnipeg Jets. The team assigned 10 forwards, 3 defensemen, and 1 goaltender to the AHL's Bakersfield Condors. James Hamblin was placed on waivers for assignment, while Connor Clattenburg, Jayden Grubbe, Matvey Petrov, James Stefan, Brady Stonehouse, and Beau Akey were loaned to Bakersfield. Matt Copponi, Seth Griffith, Rem Pitlick, Rhett Pitlick, Mason Millman, and Luke Prokop were released and will report to Bakersfield. With these moves, the training camp roster is down to 39 players.
One of the intriguing storylines of the Oilers' training camp is Atro Leppänen, a 26-year-old Finnish defenseman. Leppänen is getting a good look, playing in his third straight preseason game. He set a record for points by a defenseman in Finland's Liiga with 21 goals and 63 points. While his offensive abilities have impressed, his fit on the team is uncertain. Coach Knoblauch has praised Leppänen's puck play as being at an NHL level.
The Oilers' preseason schedule kicked off on September 21 with split-squad action against the Calgary Flames. They have home and away matchups scheduled against the Winnipeg Jets, Seattle Kraken, and Vancouver Canucks. The regular season will start with a pair of Pacific Division home games against the Calgary Flames on October 8 and the Vancouver Canucks on October 11.
A few days prior to the start of training camp, the Oilers released their rookie camp roster and schedule. The rookie camp featured 25 players, including Isaac Howard, Tommy Lafreniere, David Lewandowski and Beau Akey. The rookies played games against the Calgary Flames on September 12 and 14. Tommy Lafreniere and David Lewandowski, the Oilers' 2025 draft picks, are participating in the training camp.
With 25 new faces in camp, the Oilers are looking to fill vacant spots, especially at forward. Klim Kostin, a former fan favorite, has expressed interest in re-signing with the team. Prospects like Ike Howard and Matt Savoie are trying to carve out roles.
Brett Kulak, a steady presence on the Oilers' third defensive pairing, is entering the final year of his contract. The team will likely look to lock him up before he becomes a free agent.
