The Edmonton Oilers are just getting started on the 2025-26 season, but many of the team’s prospects are well into their respective seasons. After years of uneven results, prospects at main camp gave an indication that this season might be different. After an explosive weekend offensively for the AHL Bakersfield Condors, this year’s Oilers prospects appear destined to fill nets across the hockey world. Here’s a look.
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KHL
Maxim Berezkin
Russian winger Maxim Berezkin is an intriguing player. A big winger with skill, he’s not quite a power forward but does possess the ability to win pucks. He’s a very good passer and can score goals. Last season was his best, and his playoff run garnered him plenty of attention. He has started this season in the KHL slowly, though.
| Year | GP | Pts-Game | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2023-24 |
62 |
0.484 |
14:51 |
|
2024 playoffs |
20 |
0.8 |
16:06 |
|
2024-25 |
66 |
0.64 |
15:55 |
|
2025 playoffs |
21 |
0.67 |
17:40 |
|
2025-26 |
13 |
0.31 |
16:31 |
All numbers via KHL site
His numbers are off year over year, but the ice time hasn’t suffered, and it’s early days. The Oilers and Berezkin expressed interest in a contract over the late summer, and he’s one of the truly legit prospects in the system who could be a plug-and-play option for the Oilers in 2026-27. He’s the No. 4 prospect in the system, so his performance this season will be tracked closely by Oilers management. He turned 24 on Sunday and looks NHL-ready.
Nikita Yesvseyev
Nikita Yevseyev first appeared in the KHL in 2022-23 at 18. He played 48 games, scored five goals and averaged 10:59 per game. Although he delivered five goals (a strong total for a defenceman in limited play), his ice time was a tell: He played sparingly in many of those 48 games.
In the two seasons that followed, he averaged just 8:49 (2023-24, in 19 games) and 8:24 (2024-25, in 38 games) minutes per game. He was very young for the league and wasn’t progressing.
This season, the spike in time on ice (he’s up to 21:43) has been a revelation. The offence is there (1-4-5 in 13 games), but he’s playing major minutes and having success. Still only 21, and with a reputation for being an effective coverage and shutdown player, Yevseyev joins Berezkin as a strong Russian prospect on the Oilers’ list of prospects.
Bakersfield Condors
Viljami Marjala
The story of Viljami Marjala this fall is all about creativity with the puck. Marjala was known to be a fine passer (impossible to ignore based on his 44 assists in the Liiga during the 2024-25 season), but has been an offensive revelation this fall for the organization.
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His skill was on display in preseason and earned him the job as No. 1 centre on the Condors depth chart for the team’s first regular season game of 2025-26. Early in the first period of that game, he set up the first goal of the season by Rem Pitlick and would go on to put on a passing clinic against the Barracuda. Marjala’s three assists in his AHL debut were the story of the game.
Josh Samanski
Josh Samanski looks like he might be a future NHL centre. The big German has enough range to project into the top nine if he continues to play at current levels. In the Condors’ first game of the regular season, Samanski played centre on the second line, ahead of veteran James Hamblin. At 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, his size advantage and the skill shown in preseason have him in an ideal situation as the 2025-26 season begins. He picked up an assist in the opener.
Connor Clattenburg
Although he started his AHL season on the fourth line for the Condors, there’s a significant organizational buzz about Connor Clattenburg. He’s a robust winger considered a long shot for NHL play on his draft day. His style is a throwback to an era when teams ran enforcers on their fourth line, but Clattenburg has shown signs of being able to move the needle offensively (especially in preseason). Still an NHL long shot, he’s a compelling story for fans who miss the rugged Oilers of 30-plus years ago. He had an impressive fight on Saturday against San Jose, dropping Cole Clayton in a spirited tilt.
Quinn Hutson
The Oilers might have something in Quinn Hutson. He’s a college signing who arrives in pro hockey at 23, an older age for a prospect. What sets him apart from many of the young wingers in Bakersfield is his two-way ability. He’s great with the puck, but smart in coverage and is capable of playing a complete game. Edmonton used to have this player-type readily available during the years Craig MacTavish was coach (probably because he was the same player-type when active), but it’s been years since a winger like Hutson arrived in the organization fully formed. He’ll need to score in Bakersfield, but Hutson is trending in a very good direction. He was quiet offensively on Saturday, though.
Roby Jarventie
Perhaps the most naturally talented of the Bakersfield wingers, Roby Jarventie has had a difficult time staying healthy since turning pro. He was firing on all cylinders in the Condors’ first game on Saturday. Jarventie scored a goal and added a pair of assists in the game. The Oilers will want to make sure he can stay healthy, but he’s a consideration for a recall if Edmonton needs a skill winger.
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The Pitlicks
Signed to AHL-only deals, Rem Pitlick (28 and a veteran of 128 NHL games) and brother Rhett Pitlick (24 and just starting his pro career) were both impressive for Bakersfield in the Saturday game. Rem went 1-2-3 on the top line, and Rhett scored a gorgeous short-handed goal late. The two men should have an impact on the minor-league team this season, and they were top drawer on Saturday.
WHL (junior)
David Lewandowski
The Saskatoon Blades are enjoying a strong start from German winger David Lewandowski. Through the first six games of the WHL season, he’s at 3-8-11 and ranks No. 3 in assists and in a tie for No. 6 in league points. He has size (6-foot-2, 177 pounds at 18) and is a strong passer. Despite his youth, he’s also showing an ability to win and control pucks. He’s years away from the NHL, but his improved offence in a fine junior league looks real in early-season games.
Bottom line
The Condors scored six on a wild hockey afternoon in San Jose, with the penalty kill being the main culprit in the loss to the Barracuda. Bakersfield hockey fans are in for some spectacular hockey this season if Marjala, Jarventie and the Pitlicks are rolling as they did Saturday.
Meanwhile, the KHL, always a star-crossed league for Oilers prospects, is showing promise on two fronts so far this season.
This news was originally published on this post .
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