The Edmonton Oilers have had a number of prospects and young players make a name for themselves at training camp, but one player will be leaving disappointed.
Matvey Petrov was recently ranked as the team's 10th best prospect by OilersNation, but the 21 year old was cut from training camp early with players much younger than him.
In the second wave of roster cuts, the Oilers sent a number of minor league forwards on tryout contracts to the AHL, along with players like James Stefan coming out of the WHL last year. Petrov sticks out as the most experienced player by far out of the group, having played 53 games with the Bakersfield Condors last season.
Petrov was selected by the Oilers in the sixth round of the the 2021 Draft, and was considered a bit of a sleeper pick at the time. He had an incredibly successful season in Russia's MHL at 17 years old, and scored 40 goals in 63 games in the OHL the year after. The 6'2 left winger was a clear offensive threat with the size to be a force in the NHL. However the longer he's stated in North America, his production has continued to decline. In the AHL last year, Petrov scored only 9 goals and 14 points.
Oilers prospect experts were hopeful that last season's struggles were just an adjustment to the jump to professional hockey, but with this disappointing training camp too, it seems that Petrov's stock as a prospect is falling. Hopefully, the Oilers development team will be able to get Petrov back on track this season in the AHL.
The Edmonton Oilers regular season will begin on October 9th at home against the Winnipeg Jets. Gear up Oilers fans, hockey is back!
