OILERS NOTES: Edmonton consider signing Carter Savoie after NCAA Frozen Four
It is certainly a possibility with the local product carrying the University of Denver to the NCAA final against Minnesota State Saturday with his OT winner Thursday to bounce star-studded Michigan from the Frozen Four
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Will Carter Savoie have an Oilers contract in his back pocket early next week?
It is certainly a possibility with the local product carrying the University of Denver to the NCAA final against Minnesota State Saturday with his OT winner Thursday to bounce star-studded Michigan from the Frozen Four.
Savoie, 20, finishing up his sophomore season with 23 goals in 38 games this season and 45 points, might leave school, but the Oilers are giving him some space right now.
They’ll talk to the former Sherwood Park Crusaders winger, who has scored in all three NCAA tournament games for Denver, all in the third period or deeper, after his hockey season’s over.
It is hard to believe NHL scouts gave him so little love and he was the 100th pick in 2020 and Hockey Canada has completely turned a blind eye to his scoring skill, not even inviting him to the selection camp for their last world junior team.
The Oilers don’t know which way Savoie’s leaning.
“I talked to his coach about three weeks ago and the coach had talked to every NHL team and asked teams to let his players focus on winning an NCAA championship,” said Oilers general manager Ken Holland. “We’re respecting the Denver program and we haven’t talked to Carter’s people. We’ll support whatever decision he makes. Next week, we will talk.”
In some ways Savoie looks like a Tyler Toffoli type. He doesn’t wow you with his speed but he gets open and he’s a shooter who doesn’t need much room.
“Obviously he’s a scorer. He led the Alberta Hockey League in scoring with 50 goals,” said Holland. “We took him in the fourth round and he went right to Denver and he’s backed up a good first year with an even better sophomore. He’s got a gift; it’s hard to find people who can score. I like him. He’s got puck skills and hockey sense. He’s certainly done everything he can to build his resume at the college level.
“Can he score at the next level? I don’t know.”
He’s a big shooter in college, though. When asked where the OT winner against Michigan, with their 13 NHL drafted players, ranked he didn’t stickhandle.
“Jumped right to the top,” Savoie said.
There’s a concern with college players that, even if drafted, they can become free-agents after their third year of school because they also had a year in junior A before that, if they don’t want to sign with the team that picked them.
Like the Oilers and John Marino, but he was American and wanted to play back east so Edmonton traded his rights to Pittsburgh. It’s often best to sign players before they get to a third college year, but Savoie isn’t Marino. He lives in St. Albert.
Lost in Savoie’s heroics was the strong play by his best friend Mike Benning, who assisted on two of the three Denver goals in the win over Michigan.
Brian’s son and Matt’s brother runs their power play and was drafted by Florida in the fourth-round.
MAKING AN IMPRESSION
Evan Bouchard’s blast for a 10th goal against Los Angeles got him a $212,500 performance bonus. He had already collected the same for 25 points. He’s got 38, and if he hit 40, that triggers another bonus.
It’s interesting that Bouchard and New York Islanders defenceman Noah Dobson, both offensive defencemen in junior and picked two spots apart in the 2018 draft, have almost identical numbers. Dobson has 40 points.
“It’s almost like the pucks have eyes when Evan’s shooting, finding their way through shot blocks and he gives goaltenders problems,” said Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft.
“I’ve had the good fortune of seeing Evan since he joined our organization. I saw him coming out of junior to play in the playoffs, then his first year as a professional. I take a lot of pride in working with him.”
THIS ‘N’ THAT
Oilers winger Evander Kane was fined $5000 for his knee on Kings’ Sean Durzi in Thursday’s game. He got a penalty on the play … Another local tie in with Savoie playing Minnesota State goalie Dryden McKay in the NCAA final. McKay’s grandparents live beside ex-Oil Kings player Darryl Havrelock here. McKay’s dad Ross played goal for U of Saskatchewan, loved Ken Dryden so named his boy after the Habs’ great. McKay just won the Hobey Baker award as best college player … Holland empathizes with farmhand Dmitri Samorukov, who might be done for the season with a second shoulder problem, but the opposite one from last season’s injury playing for CSKA in Moscow. “I feel terrible for him. He missed the last half of the Russian season, then he breaks his jaw and he’s out six to eight weeks at our training camp, and now this he’s done again. He’s seeing a specialist to see if he needs surgery or not,” he said … Whether the Oilers free-agent goalie signee Ryan Fanti gets any games on his amateur tryout in Bakersfield now is debatable with Stuart Skinner and Ilya Konovalov there, but he could certainly play on the farm in 22-23. “Skinner’s done with the American League after this season. He’s waiver eligible. The next step is to be in Edmonton,” said Holland. “With Kovovalov and (Olivier) Rodrigue signed we’re just trying to get another goalie with a chance and we’ll throw it into a wide-open competition. Fanti was a No. 1 goalie at a top school (Minnesota-Duluth), and he’s got NHL goalie size at six-foot-three.”
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