3 Oilers Quietly Having Best Seasons of Their Careers

EDMONTON — It was a night to remember for Oil Country.

Zach Hyman scored the final Edmonton Oilers goal on a beautiful feed from Connor McDavid – to give them a commanding win over the 32nd overall team, the San Jose Sharks.

McDavid and Hyman aren’t the only Oilers having seasons to remember. There are three other players who have quietly put together the best seasons of their respective careers.

Mattias Ekholm

First on this list is Mattias Ekholm. Just a few short games ago he set a personal record for most goals scored in a season with 11. While he has only tied his career high in points – with 44 – there are two more games on the schedule for him to add to his numbers.

Mattias Ekholm. Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sports

The last time he had 44 points in a season was back in 2018-19 with his first team – the Nashville Predators. He had 36 assists that season to go along with eight goals while playing 23:22 a night.

His stats this year are 11 goals and 33 assists while playing 21:01 – the lowest time on ice for him in nine seasons. If he can add three more assists to his totals, he can tie his career high.

Ryan McLeod

Ryan McLeod signed a two contract extension back on August 1st this past summer. With that extension came the expectation that he would be able to contribute more going forward with the Oilers. I would say he has done just that.

Ryan McLeod. Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

This season McLeod has remained healthy for nearly the entire season – dressing in 79 of a possible 80 games this year. He has 12 goals and 18 assists, giving him a new career high of 30 points this year.

All things considered, he’s producing at about the same rate that he did last season. The major difference is simply his ability to stay healthy all season.

Warren Foegele

Warren Foegele is in a contract year. The 28-year-old winger has put together a great season – 19 goals, 21 assists for 40 points. That’s a new career high in three different categories.

Warren Foegele. Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

With games against the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche left on the regular season schedule, there is plenty of time for him to add to these totals. He has recently found himself on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, which could be something they continue to experiment with going forward.

For all of the attention that McDavid, Hyman – and to a lesser extend Evan Bouchard – have gotten for the seasons that they are having, it’s important to remember the depth players and the contributions they have brought to the team.

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