2 weeks Ago By Liam McCormick, Oilers Daily
The Edmonton Oilers are currently the oldest team in the National Hockey League by average age, and now insiders are reporting they will soon begin to rest some older players, and call up some prospects. According to a recent report from David Staples in the Edmonton Journal , the Oilers will soon be healthy scratching veterans Corey Perry and Derek Ryan to manage their workload through the season. The Oilers will have a great opportunity to do so for the first time next week.
The Oilers have already played two sets of back to back games, which would be the prime opportunity that you'd want to rest older players like Perry and Ryan. Next week, on November 3 and 4, the Oilers will have yet another back to back that includes travel. That's a tough set of circumstances for a game, and a great excuse to inject some young hungry talent into the lineup.
The two prime candidates to be first called up this season will be forwards Noah Philp and James Hamblin. Noah Philp had an incredible training camp that proved he's an NHL ready player, but after missing the entire season last year, the Oilers reportedly wanted Philp to get more ice time in the AHL first . Philp has been off to an incredible start in the AHL too, scoring 2 goals and 3 points in 6 games.
On the others hand, the Oilers have been using James Hamblin on the left wing instead of the right wing in the AHL recently, which would certainly align with the Oilers weakness on the left side. With both Hamblin and Philp, it's just a matter of time before the Oilers call them up for a few games this season. It might be tough for them as prospects who are blocked from the NHL roster by veteran talent, but the Oilers will need every depth player if they'll make another deep run into the playoffs.
Philp and Hamblin need to play NHL games now, because they will likely be called upon again if the Oilers play another four rounds of playoff hockey. This article first appeared on Oilers Daily and was syndicated with permission..
