2023-24 Season Preview – Edmonton Oil Kings
After capturing the WHL Championship in 2022, the Edmonton Oil Kings underwent a roster reconstruction in 2022-23 with a new generation of Oil Kings set to hit the ice in the Alberta capital this coming winter. Led by NHL Draft prospect Gavin Hodnett, captain Rhett Melnyk and a host of new faces young and old, Edmonton will begin its push to return to the WHL Playoffs later this month.
Key Returners
Hodnett, Melnyk and defenceman Vojtech Port headline the cast of returnees on the Edmonton roster in 2023-24. Hodnett led the team in scoring a season ago as a 16-year-old skater with 12 goals and 43 points, while Melnyk, who hails from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., became the latest local Oil King to be named team captain midway through the 2022-23 campaign. Czech blueliner Port was limited to 46 games in an Edmonton uniform a season ago, but got rewarded in a big way this past June when his name was called by the Anaheim Ducks at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville. Goaltender Kolby Hay, one of the few remaining Oil Kings players from the 2022 WHL Championship squad, returns for his 19-year-old season after making 50 appearances in the Edmonton crease in 2022-23.
Who’s In And Out
Oil Kings GM Kirt Hill has added plenty of new faces over the summer including a trio of 20-year-old skaters. Forward Aidan Litke and defenceman Marc Lajoie were acquired from Portland and Tri-City, respectively (Lajoie is a former Americans captain), while forward Ty Nash arrived in Edmonton this week after helping Winnipeg reach the WHL Championship Series this past May. Watch as well for Czech forward Adam Jecho, the third-overall selection in the 2023 CHL Import Draft, and defenceman Blake Fiddler, who was Edmonton’s first-overall pick in the 2022 U.S. Priority Draft. Both enjoyed international duty for their respective nations in August.
NHL Draft Prospects
Jecho’s 6-foot-5 frame helps him stand tall among the Oil Kings’ prospects for the 2024 NHL Draft. He averaged more than a point per game at the U18 level in Finland last season, and represented Czechia both at the World U17 Hockey Challenge and the 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship. Hodnett’s playmaking ability will be a point of emphasis for NHL scouts this winter, while defencemen Ethan MacKenzie and Rhys Pederson both played big minutes with Edmonton a season ago and are poised to be a big part of the blue line again this year.
OIL KINGS BY THE NUMBERS (2022-23):
Team Record: 10-54-4-0 (24 points)
Division Ranking: 6th, Central
2023 WHL Playoffs: did not qualify
Goals For: 131 (22nd)
Goals Against: 338 (22nd)
PP (Overall): 13.7% (22nd)
PK (Overall): 69.1% (22nd)
Leading Scorers: Hodnett (12-31-43), Kovacevic (15-15-30), Boyko (16-13-29)
Leading Rookie: Hodnett (12-31-43)
NHL Drafted Players: Port (ANA – 2023)
