The future might not be now, but the future is certainly near.
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The Oilers made it official with their 2024 first-round pick on Monday, signing Sam O’Reilly to a three-year entry-level contract. O’Reilly was drafted 32nd overall by the Oilers in June.
O’Reilly’s selection was a bit of a surprise at the time, but he’s quickly rewarded the Oilers’ faith in him. He was a revelation in training camp, showing much more offence than expected and sticking around until the closing days of camp.
He only scored one goal in camp, but it was a beauty:
Despite his strong NHL training camp, it’s been tougher sledding for O’Reilly in the OHL. The 18-year-old was expected to be one of the top players on one of the best teams in the CHL, centering fellow NHL prospects Denver Barkey (PHI) and Easton Cowan (TOR) to start the year. But that line struggled, leading to O’Reilly’s move down to the second line.
Nine games into the season and that first line has been entirely broken up. O’Reilly played Sunday’s game at right wing next to Barkey, who’s only notched two assists on the young season. O’Reilly, for his part, has 5 points in 7 games, tied for 8th on the team.
O’Reilly is projected as a solid, steady two-way forward, likely with more defence than offence at the NHL level. His career OHL numbers don’t jump off the page — 20 goals and 56 points in 68 games last season. He’s not expected to light the world on fire in London, but it’s worrying that he’s already being moved off of centre.
The Oilers made a big commitment on O’Reilly, trading their 2025 first-rounder to pick him ahead of where he was projected. With a farm system that grades out as one of the worst in the league, O’Reilly is a hugely important player for the Oilers’ future.
With his impressive training camp and now on an ELC, he’ll get a chance to some NHL minutes next season. A good year in London would go a long way towards that, and he’ll need to improve to get that chance.
On a more positive note, while O’Reilly has had a tough start to the year, fellow Oilers prospect William Nichol has been one of London’s best players with 9 points in 9 games, earning a promotion to the first line. Nichol was drafted in the 7th round, 196th overall, this past summer. He’ll be worth keeping an eye on this season.
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