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2022 NHL Prospect Watch – Edmonton Oilers – WHL Network

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With the 2022-23 NHL season on the horizon, we’re putting a focus on current and former WHL players looking to make their mark at the next level.

The 2022 NHL Prospect Watch series will feature some of the current and past WHL talent recently drafted or signed to NHL contracts, and having appeared in fewer than 50 NHL games.

Our series continues with a look at the prospect pool of the Edmonton Oilers.

Tyler Benson
Former Vancouver Giants captain Tyler Benson split the 2021-22 NHL season between the Edmonton Oilers and their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield. Benson got into 29 games with his hometown NHL Club this past season, scoring his first NHL goal on February 20 versus the Minnesota Wild. Benson spent his entire WHL career with the Giants after being selected first-overall in the 2013 WHL Draft, putting up 184 points over his time in Vancouver.

Jake Chiasson
A fourth-round selection by the Oilers in the 2021 NHL Draft, forward Jake Chiasson returned to the Brandon Wheat Kings for the club’s stretch run after recovering from a pre-season injury. The product of Abbotsford, BC collected 18 points in 20 games for Brandon, adding a trio of assists in the 2022 WHL Playoffs. The 19-year-old was originally selected by the Wheat Kings with the 15th overall pick in the 2018 WHL Draft.

James Hamblin
Forward James Hamblin signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers this past March, providing an exclamation point to a 2021-22 season that saw him score 21 times at AHL Bakersfield. The product of Edmonton, Alta. spent his entire five-year WHL career with the Medicine Hat Tigers, the final three campaigns as captain, topping out with a 92-point season in 2019-20. Hamblin was named to the WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team in 2020, and enters the 2022-23 season with more than 100 AHL appearances under his belt.

Noah Phillips
Forward Noah Philp signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers in April after spending the past three seasons utilizing his WHL Scholarship at the University of Alberta. Philp, from Canmore, Alta., won a Canada West Championship in 2022 before appearing in six regular season and playoff games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Philp spent four seasons in the WHL, two each with the Kootenay ICE and Seattle Thunderbirds. As a Thunderbirds, Phil collected a career best 26 goals and 75 points in 2018-19.

Reid Schaefer
Hailing from Spruce Grove, Alta., forward Reid Schaefer heard his name called by his hometown Edmonton Oilers with the final selection in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft in July. Schaefer collected a career-high 32 goals and 58 points in 2021-22 with the Seattle Thunderbirds, adding 21 points (6G-15A) in 25 playoff games as the Thunderbirds reached the 2022 WHL Championship series. The 6-foot-4 forward was originally selected by Seattle in the eighth round of the 2018 WHL Draft.

Stuart Skinner
A WHL Champion with the Swift Current Broncos in 2018, goaltender Stuart Skinner got into 13 contests with the Edmonton Oilers in 2021-22, posting a 6-6-0 record and .913 save percentage, earning his first WHL shutout with a 20- save performance against the San Jose Sharks on Valentine’s Day. Skinner, an Edmonton product, had five additional clean sheets in the AHL last season with the Bakersfield Condors. Skinner spent the bulk of his WHL career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes before moving East to the Broncos ahead of the 2018 WHL Trade Deadline. He racked up a .932 save percentage in the 2018 WHL Playoffs, helping Swift Current to its first WHL title in 25 years.

Max Wanner
Selected in the seventh round of the 2021 NHL Draft by the Oilers, defenseman Max Wanner begins the 2022-23 WHL season after recording a career best six goals and 23 points for the Moose Jaw Warriors in 2021-22. Wanner, from Estevan, Sask., added three goals and seven points during the 2022 WHL Playoffs as Moose Jaw reached the Second Round. The 6-foot-3 rearguard has 87 career regular season and playoff appearances in the WHL, all with the Warriors.