With all the injuries plaguing the Edmonton Oilers in the second half of the regular season, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Bakersfield Condors have been getting a lot of calls, even in the last couple of games of the season. The most recent call-up, Isaac Howard, has been up and down between the minors and the NHL all season. What we’ve seen at both levels of play and what the Oilers may have planned for the future will very likely involve the young forward, and there are different ways it can go.
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The 22-year-old hasn’t had the rookie season he or Edmonton had envisioned back in October when he made the opening-night roster. However, it’s not necessarily a need for panic given his age and success at all other levels of play. The Oilers will need to make a decision on Howard sometime soon, whether it be this summer or next season.
Howard Breakout in 2026-27?
Something that could very well happen is that after Howard has an offseason reset and another good training camp, he becomes a big part of next season’s team. He arrived last summer in a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning, signing an entry-level deal soon after. This offseason will be his first full one spent in the Oilers organization, and coming off a great season in the AHL.
Howard has 22 goals and 47 points through 45 AHL games, is very disciplined, and is extremely smart and strong with the puck. These things are still taking some time to transfer to the NHL, but again, he’s a young player with so little experience. It will get there.
This is something we have seen already with full-time Oiler Matt Savoie. He also made the roster out of training camp and had a slow start to the season. However, we’ve seen that as he’s gotten more ice time and matched up with different competition, he has become a high-value top-six winger. Savoie has been able to play quality minutes alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and put up strong numbers in his rookie season. Something like that could be in the making for Howard in his second season.
Oilers Could Use Howard as Trade Bait
The other way the Oilers could go with Howard is the way they’ve gone with prospects in the past due to their “win-now” mentality — a trade. It wouldn’t be ideal, considering the potential of the young forward and the price they originally paid to acquire him. Then again, the Oilers’ window to compete is slowly shrinking and there are assets out there that would take a top-tier prospect to acquire.
We’ve seen Edmonton’s brass utilize their farm system plenty of times to bring in NHL-ready skill. Last season saw them send a first-round pick and prospect Carl Berglund to the San Jose Sharks for Jake Walman. They also completed a three-team deal that sent away two prospects to bring in Trent Frederic and Max Jones.
We also can’t forget one of the most impactful deals they’ve made in a while, reeling in Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators. They sent back one of their top prospects at the time in Reid Schaefer in a bold but necessary. It’s something the Oilers may consider with Howard.
He’s a great young player who still has all the possibilities in the world. Head coach Kris Knoblauch hasn’t been known to always utilize all the young talent he has and prefers to rely on the veterans. So while a trade for another veteran might be hasty, it might also work within the style of coaching the Oilers have right now.
As mentioned, there is still time to decide on Howard’s future. We likely won’t see much, if any of him, in the postseason, so there’s even more time for him to hone his craft and become the best version of himself.
