Top 10 Best Edmonton Oilers Skaters (2024/25)

­Former home of legends like Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, and, of course, Wayne Gretzky, those who play for the Edmonton Oilers have one of the highest bars in the NHL to try to meet. From 1983 to 1990, the Oilers won all five of their Stanley Cups, and now, the team might be closing in on another.

Table of Contents:

• Connor McDavid (C/LW)
• Leon Draisaitl (C/LW)
• Evan Bouchard (D)
• Zach Hyman (W/C)
• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (C/W)
• Mattias Ekholm (D)
• Evander Kane (LW/RW)
• Viktor Arvidsson (LW)
• Jeff Skinner (LW)
• Darnell Nurse (D)

From 2010 to 2012, the Oilers got all three of the first overall picks, but it wouldn’t be until the 2014 third overall and 2015 first overall that their trajectory would truly change. Now, headlined by those two picks of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, the Oilers are firmly the favourites in the hockey betting this season.

1. Connor McDavid (C/LW)

• Position: Centre, Left Wing
• Years Active: 10
• Games Played: 694
• Goals: 357
• Assists: 696
• Total Points: 1,053

Drafted first overall by the Oilers in the 2015 NHL Draft, Connor McDavid was the most hyped-up player coming through the CHL since Sidney Crosby ten years prior. Much like Crosby, McDavid has delivered, and then some, changing the course of the franchise and helping to make them true Stanley Cup contenders.

To date, the 28-year-old has won the Art Ross Trophy five times – and is high in the odds to win the trophy again in 2024/25 – the Hart Memorial Trophy three times, the Ted Lindsay Award four times, the Maurice Richard Trophy once, and is one of just the sixth player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy while on the losing team.

On top of his incredible clip of scoring 1,053 points in 694 NHL games to date, McDavid has also added 117 points in 74 postseason games. Plus, he’ll already be eyeing up his eighth 100-point campaign.

2. Leon Draisaitl (C/LW)

• Position: Center, Lew Wing
• Years Active: 11
• Games Played: 774
• Goals: 387
• Assists: 546
• Total Points: 933

German forward Leon Draisaitl arrived a year before McDavid and without quite as much hype and anticipation, but he’s certainly a big part of why this Oilers team is so feared. His adaptability as a forward, incredible durability, and knack for scoring goals make him the perfect complement to McDavid.

Offering echoes of the Canadian-European connection between Gretzky and Kurri all those decades ago, while Draisaitl seldom plays on the same even-strength lines as McDavid, when they’re both on the ice for powerplay situations, they make for quite the menacing duo.

In the playoffs, the German already has 41 goals and 108 points in a mere 74 games. This season, he’s coming in as the favourite to claim the Hart Memorial Trophy, leaving Nathan MacKinnon, Connor Hellebuyck, and even McDavid in his wake.

3. Evan Bouchard (D)

• Position: Defenseman
• Years Active: 6
• Games Played: 320
• Goals: 50
• Assists: 165
• Total Points: 215

The Edmonton Oilers have long been a top-heavy team, regularly struggling to build a reliable defensive corps. That was until Evan Bouchard managed to break into the NHL lines. The right-shot defenseman was picked tenth overall in 2018. It took until the 2021/22 season for him to become a regular NHLer, but he’s been revolutionary since.

In his first two seasons, Bouchard eclipsed 40 points, offering a much-needed source of offensive prowess on the blueline. In 2023/24, he fully broke out as an offensive threat, seeing his scoring surge to 18 goals and 82 points in 81 games. He’s a bit off of that pace this season, but his 16 powerplay points in 55 games showcase his utility.

4. Zach Hyman (W/C)

• Position: Forward
• Years Active: 10
• Games Played: 630
• Goals: 222
• Assists: 209
• Total Points: 431

Toronto’s loss was Edmonton’s gain. At the end of the 2020/21 season, former fifth-rounder Zach Hyman had spent the majority of his second consecutive season out injured. Even though he’d scored 15 goals and 33 points in the jagged 43-game run, the Maple Leafs’ persistent cap issues meant they had to let the RFA of the time go.

The Oilers swept in with a seven-year deal on a very team-friendly $38.5 million and just let him rip. In his first season as an Oiler, Hyman scored a career-best 27 goals and 54 points. Last season, he scored 54 goals, and this season, he’ll likely breach his second-best tally of 34 goals. The natural sniper has been a revelation for the Oilers.

5. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (C/W)

• Position: Forward
• Years Active: 14
• Games Played: 935
• Goals: 266
• Assists: 468
• Total Points: 734

The consensus top pick of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft – which also featured Mika Zibanejad, Gabriel Landeskog, and Jonathan Huberdeau – none were surprised when Edmonton’s second first-overall pick in as many years went to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. After putting on some weight in preseason, the centre went straight into the NHL lines.

In his first season, he put up a strong tally of 18 goals and 52 points in 62 games, showcasing his skill and high hockey IQ. However, just as they did that season, injuries would continue to plague his career. That is until recently. He’s been going strong since 2022/23, when he put up a mighty 37 goals and 104 points having played all 82 games.

6. Mattias Ekholm (D)

• Position: Defenseman
• Years Active: 14
• Games Played: 873
• Goals: 84
• Assists: 267
• Total Points: 351

Born in Borlange, Sweden, Mattias Ekholm was scooped up by defenseman experts Nashville in the 2009 draft in the fourth round. Now standing 6’5’’ and 225 lbs, he’s long been considered among the NHL’s top defensive defenseman. For the Oilers, though, he’s certainly been able to step up his offensive output.

The 34-year-old scored 14 points after his mid-season switch from the Predators to the Oilers in 2022/23, which almost matched his 18-point tally with the Preds in just 21 games as an Oiler. Last season, his first full campaign in Edmonton, Ekholm put up a career-best 45 points.

Still, where he’s most useful is in shot-blocking. In just the first 54 games of the 2024/25 season, Ekholm had stopped 80 shots from going on net.

7. Evander Kane (LW/RW)

• Position: Left Wing, Right Wing
• Years Active: 15
• Games Played: 930
• Goals: 326
• Assists: 291
• Total Points: 617

One of the San Jose Sharks’ best players as they tried to resist the need for a rebuild, to open the 2021/22 season, the California club felt it necessary to put Evander Kane of unconditional waivers for his breaking of COVID-19 protocols. It didn’t take long for the Oilers to make the most of the situation and sign him to a one-year deal.

Kane made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut and helping to level up the team’s event strength play through his power forward style and eye for goal. When he’s been fit, he’s been a key piece of this Oilers setup. This season, he underwent abdominal and knee surgery, but when he returns, he’ll certainly help to pump up Edmonton’s moneyline odds each game night.

8. Viktor Arvidsson (LW)

• Position: Left Wing
• Years Active: 11
• Games Played: 586
• Goals: 186
• Assists: 194
• Total Points: 380

Another Swede brought to the NHL via a fourth-round pick by the Nashville Predators, Viktor Arvidsson established himself as a consistent scorer for the Preds. In 2021/22, he signed with the Los Angeles Kings, managed to stay healthy for most of his first two seasons in California, but could only must 18 games in 2023/24.

Arvidsson was one of the top pick-ups from the free agency by the Oilers in 2024. While he hasn’t exactly exploded onto the scene with seven goals and 18 points through his first 40 games, the Swede still holds the potential to snap into scoring form, given the surrounding talent.

9. Jeff Skinner (LW)

• Position: Left Wing
• Years Active: 15
• Games Played: 1,055
• Goals: 367
• Assists: 323
• Total Points: 690

Jeff Skinner was a long-time, reliable scorer for the Carolina Hurricanes, paying back the faith put in him with a seventh overall pick in the 2010 draft. Then, before the 2018/19 season, he was sent to Buffalo, where he immediately broke scoring records. In 2019, he signed a fat eight-year, $9 million per season deal to stay with the Sabres.

However, over the summer of 2024, the Sabres worked on a way to get Skinner out: his style didn’t suit the incoming coach. That was solved by buying out the rest of his contract. Just a few days later, he signed for the Edmonton Oilers and has since scored ten goals and 20 points in 49 games up to the 4 Nations break in the season.

10. Darnell Nurse (D)

• Position: Defenseman
• Years Active: 11
• Games Played: 692
• Goals: 80
• Assists: 209
• Total Points: 289

Even though the Oilers have long struggled to pull together a defence worthy of their vaunted forward sets, Darnell Nurse has been the shining light of the blueline for many years. Since the 2015/16 season, Nurse has been a regular, only missing significant time in 2016/17 and 2020/21.

From that last injury-ridden season onwards, Nurse has consistently posted a plus in the plus-minus column and over 30 points per season. He makes his biggest impact off of the puck, though. He’s Edmonton’s best checking defenseman and continues to put his body on the line to stop shots. In just 52 games to start the 2024/25 season, Nurse had laid down 104 hits and stopped 88 shots.