Two hot prospects stand out as the Edmonton Oilers rookies defeat the Winnipeg Jets rookies 3-2

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No shortage of potential players who delivered solid games for the Edmonton Oilers rookies in their 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets rookies in Penticton on Friday (game highlights).

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But two of them caught my eye, striker Xavier Bourgault and defender Michael Kesselring.

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The Oilers roster was full of promising players, high-ranking members of The Cult of Hockey’s recent potential rankings, including Philip Broberg at No. 1, Dylan Holloway at No. 2, Bourgault at No. 4, Reid Schaefer at No. 5, Carter Savoie at No 8th and 9th place Matvey Petrov.

I will briefly comment on some of these before going into more detail on Bourgault and Kesselring.

Dylan Holloway: He got an assist for the winner, jumped on a puck in the crease and put it in the cross crease where linemate James Hamblin eventually slammed it home. Holloway had the puck on the line a few times, cruising around the offensive zone quickly and dangerously. If the Oilers were still stuck in the decade of obscurity, it would be easy to imagine that Holloway and Bourgault would not only get the Oilers out of camp, but also secure a spot in the top six. He also got an assist for Kesselring’s goal.

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Carter Savoy: Showed his impressive skill numerous times, including on an early power play, taking the puck down the wing on his off-wing, moving in and sending a horizontal dart through the kill floor, straight into Darien Kielb’s stick, taking it home banged . Between Savoie and Bourgault the beacon is well stocked with sniper wings.

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Maximus Wanner: I’d never seen the lad play but the 19-year-old made a hell of a first impression. He’s tall, 6ft, 3 inches, 185lbs, but he’s also good at skating. He ran smoothly and confidently with and protected the puck, making several safe plays to avoid Winnipeg forecheckers.

Ryan Fanti: The rookie goalie looked quick and smooth at the net and handled the puck exceptionally well too.

Phillip Broberg: A fairly quiet, but still powerful game, in which Broberg ran for miles with and without the puck and engaged in several dangerous attacking plays.

Noah Philip. The tall center is 24 years old, one to six years older than most of his teammates and opponents in this game, and it showed. He was strong on the boards, leading his line of Matvei Petrov and Tyler Tullio in a series of successful forecheck stints.

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Michael Kesselring, 22. This was a big game for Kesselring, a much-needed demonstration of his maturity and skill. Kesselring had a good rookie season in the AHL, but he’s 22 now, time to show his skills, time to snag a top-four job at the bake. He got off to a good start this game and outshined Broberg in that one. Kesselring was constantly winning pucks in the D-Zone and running them on ice, often with positive results, including a jab up the wing where he parried a defender and slotted the puck only to see him take it from a distracted Jets defender for a Winnipeg own goal. Kesselring’s skating looked better than ever, both in terms of agility and speed, and this improvement is key for the player. He is of excellent height and has a good head with the puck. If he can also bring in strong skating, he has a shot at an NHL job in the future.

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Xavier Bourgault. Wow! What a show from the Oilers first round pick in 2021, the young Oilers forward passed hot goaltender Jesper Wallstedt for 22nd overall. If Oil’s top lines weren’t already teeming with talent, we fans would be talking Bourgault to the moon by now. He made good to great plays almost every time he touched the puck and also showed a welcome amount of rush, including the winning goal where he first sped down the ice and gained body position to avoid icing, then headed to the net , with his forecheck resulting in a deflected puck for Holloway. In another rush, he flipped a Winnipeg D-Man only to be checked by the Jets goalie at the last moment. He also came in on a dangerous backhand breakaway. He set Holloway up with a horizontal arrow through the kill floor for a nasty harpoon shot. Bourgault oozes hockey savvy and skill, which gets him off to a flying start in the American Hockey League.

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