Ever since the Edmonton Oilers’ season ended after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, they’ve followed it up with a far-from-boring offseason.
Last Sunday, the Oilers sent Cody Ceci and a third-round draft pick in 2025 to the San Jose Sharks for defenceman Ty Emberson. Many assumed the extra cap space saved would be used to match the St. Louis Blues’ offer sheets for Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, but they elected not to.
In the end, the Oilers received a second and third-round draft pick in 2025. They also received a third-round pick in 2028 and prospect Paul Fischer in a separate trade for future considerations, which felt almost like a ‘sorry for snagging your youngsters’ type of deal from the Blues.
With Broberg and Holloway gone, the team loses some youth and speed, but Broberg’s departure especially leaves a considerable gap on the blue line. That said, Oilers’ GM Stan Bowman mentioned in his press conference, “Nothing is off the table at this point, it doesn’t do us any good to close any doors right now.” This means he’s not ruling out the possibility of signing additional free agents, signing PTOs, or making trades.
At the same time, Bowman also mentioned the importance of accruing cap space throughout the upcoming season, which would allow them to make a significant move at the trade deadline and acquire a player (likely a D-man), with a higher cap hit, which I believe is their ultimate plan.
Provided they don’t add another blueliner to start the season, Emberson has a huge opportunity ahead of him to start the 2024-25 campaign. Oilers’ Colour Commentator Bob Stauffer highlighted this on the ‘Oilers Now’ show, stating:
“Not everyone is going to want to hear this on August the 20th, but Emberson is going to have a chance to see significant minutes to start the year. He is an actual right shot, he actually played more games in the NHL in the regular season than Broberg did. He played on the right side and he played on a way worse team and kept his head above water. There’s going to be an opportunity for Emberson.”
A Little Background Info on Emberson
Before we explore his opportunity this upcoming season in Oil Country, let’s get acquainted with Emberson. The Oilers’ D-man has a strong international track record, including serving as an assistant captain for Team USA at the Youth Olympic Games when he was 16 years old, where they won gold. He also notched three assists with Team USA at the U17 World Championships, earned a silver medal at the U18 World Championships, and played in the 2020 World Junior Championships.
Additionally, he played three seasons in the NCAA at the University of Wisconsin with the Badgers from 2018 to 2021, tallying 34 points in 101 games, where he received several awards and accolades, including:
-The Fenton Kelsey Jr./Mike Richter Most Competitive Award
-Recipient of the Dr. Joseph Coyne/Joe Pavelski Most Consistent Player Honour
-The Ivan B. Williamson Scholastic Award for his achievements in the classroom
-Academic All-Big Ten Selection
The Eau Claire, WI native also served as captain for the Badgers during the 2020-21 season. There, his former teammate, Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens, praised him at the time, saying, “I’ve learned a lot from him. He calms me down in key situations and always knows how to get me to relax.”
The blueliner was selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the third round of the 2018 draft. He played 62 games with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners before being traded to the New York Rangers in July 2022. During the 2022-23 season, he played 69 games with the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack under his current Oilers’ coach, Kris Knoblauch and he was also honoured with the AHL East’s Best Defensive Defenseman Award, as voted on by the PHPA members.
Thereafter, Emberson signed a one-year contract extension in July 2023. However, two months later, the 6-foot-2, and 193 pound D-man was placed on waivers and claimed by the Sharks, where he played 30 games last season in a shutdown role with Mario Ferraro, recording ten points (one goal and nine assists) on a team that finished last in the NHL.
Emberson’s Big Chance on Oilers’ Blue Line
Now with the Oilers, Emberson will be in healthy competition for the open spots on Edmonton’s blue line with fellow D-men Troy Stecher and Josh Brown, if the team decides against making any moves before the season kicks off.
A scenario for the #4D spot could involve Brett Kulak moving to his off-side to play with Darnell Nurse or the nearly 500-game veteran, Stecher, stepping into that role as well. However, as Stauffer suggested, Emberson also has a chance to earn significant minutes this upcoming season, likely starting in the #6D role. That said, it’s not far-fetched to think he could challenge for the #4 spot, which the coaching staff will likely be monitoring from the start of training camp to see if he’s remotely suitable for that position.
Based on the data from the short sample size of 30 games played last season, the numbers highlight some encouraging signs in his play. According to PuckIQ, Emberson, known as a physical and defensively-minded blueliner, played nearly 32% of his 499 minutes against elite competition. The most notable players he faced at 5v5 were Jack Hughes (16:16 minutes) and Auston Matthews (15:31 minutes), and he only gave up one goal to each while he was on the ice.
Overall, he had a 7-6 Goals For percentage (53.8%) against elite competition last season and finished with a -4 plus/minus in 30 games and considering the Sharks’ -150 goal differential, that’s not too bad, all things considered.
Additionally, The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn gave him a +10 defensive rating on his player card and estimated his market value at $5.8 million AAV, compared to his actual $950,000 cap hit—though this assessment is based on a small sample size. As well, NHL_Sid highlighted Emberson’s strengths in a recent article, stating:
Emberson’s most significant strength is his ability to efficiently retrieve pucks in the defensive zone and clear the front of the net.
On the other hand, NHL_Sid pointed out that zone exits and entry defence are not the blueliner’s strongest areas. The first point relates to puck-moving ability, a skill that former Oiler Vincent Desharnais improved on last season, as assistant coach Paul Coffey emphasized to his D-men to make plays with the puck.
On that note, spending a season with Coffey might work wonders for the young blueliner, and his familiarity with Knoblauch could give him confidence he needs out of the gate. Let’s face it, he’s going from a bottom-feeding team to a Cup-contending one in a hockey-crazed city like Edmonton, and he’ll be under a lot of pressure from the start. If he makes a mistake, his connection with the head coach might help him avoid being stapled to the bench for an extended period—something we’ve seen happen with other young Oilers under previous coaches.
Overall, Edmonton’s blue line is weaker than it was when they were playing in the Stanley Cup Final last June, but give the Blues their credit for putting the squeeze on the Oilers and forcing them into making some tough choices. Yet, reading between the lines, the Oilers seem prepared to gamble with their current D-corps to start the season, with the big-picture focus being to bring in a more established D-man closer to the trade deadline.
That said, the consensus from several hockey pundits is that Emberson could be a low-key, solid find for the Oilers and he’ll be given every chance to establish himself as the #6 D-man and potentially earn a bigger role. With that in mind, where do you think he fits in on the Oilers’ blue line in 2024-25?
