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Entering the season, the Edmonton Oilers were fairly set and did not appear as though rookies were going to factor much into their plans for the 2005-06 campaign. Only two fresh faces managed to stick with the club through training camp beginning the season on the 23-man roster and even one of them didn’t finish the year in Edmonton.

It was not until injuries began mounting in Edmonton that the calls to the AHL began and new recruits starting making their NHL debuts. Only one of the recalls never went back to the farm, but nearly all of the youngsters made positive impressions during their stays with the big club.

2005-06 Statistics

Brad Winchester, RW (Age 24) – It turned out to be a good year for Wisconsin Badgers both in the present and alumni as well. Former captain Brad Winchester began the year with the Oilers although he didn’t see his first game action until an Oct. 10 road game in Anaheim, his first game in the NHL.

“It was pretty sweet; it was exciting,” he told HF soon after with a huge smile. “I tried to stay on a pretty even keel though and I think the preseason helped a lot playing all those games.”

Winchester remained with the club until the end of the month when he was dispatched to Hamilton for conditioning. There the 6’5 230lb winger trimmed some excess muscle and found his game that made him one of the most prolific Road Runners a year ago.

The Oilers brought Winchester back to Edmonton at Christmastime and kept him over the holiday season before once again returning him to the AHL shortly after the New Year. Patience in the minors paid off for Winchester who decided the quickest way back to the NHL was to concentrate on what made him a success as a minor pro.

“You can only control the things you can, so I just tried to focus on my game and not worry about what was going on up here.”

Winchester rejoined the Oilers for the last few weeks of the regular season where he finally made his mark on the score sheet when he assisted on a goal for fellow rookie Marc-Antoine Pouliot.

By the end of the 82 game campaign it appeared as though he had re-established his place in the organization, something that wasn’t clear on the NHL trade deadline day where several reports had Winchester involved in a last minute trade with St. Louis which fell through due to the deadline expiring. For some GM’s, the best moves are the trades they never make, perhaps this will be the case here as well.

Winchester’s performance in the first round of the playoffs has been impressive skating on the top line next to Ryan Smyth and Shawn Horcoff, rifling home the winning goal in Game 2 and adding two helpers in Game 3.

Kyle Brodziak, C (Age 21) – Unlike Danny Syvret who was in his first pro season after his junior career, Kyle Brodziak entered 2005-06 with one year under his belt having played with the Edmonton Road Runners. When he was brought up from Iowa, Brodziak was immediately thrust into the fire stepping into an early season clash with archrival Calgary. The St. Paul, Alberta native played an impressive 13:42 in his first NHL game and did not look a second out of place.

“We have really high hopes for him,” said head coach Craig MacTavish after Brodziak’s first appearance. “We saw he had a really high level of understanding of the game and where he had to be. He has good hands and he is able to make good start plays with the puck. Anytime you’re playing in your first game the butterflies are there and guys have a tough time dealing with that but he apparently didn’t.”

“I think I played pretty good, I played more than I thought I would but I think it went all right,” Brodziak said at the time. “The first few shifts you’re just trying not to screw up. It was awesome. It was something I was dreaming of my whole life.”

Although not projected to be a scorer in the NHL like he was in junior as a member of the Moose Jaw Warriors, Brodziak’s versatility and defensive awareness is what will get him to the big leagues. Once he’s established himself in the NHL it is totally possible to see an offensive game develop not unlike one has for Jarret Stoll this year with the Oilers, a player many people are comparing Brodziak to these days.

Danny Syvret, D (Age 20) – The first blueliners to receive ‘the call’ from Edmonton were Hamilton’s two Dans. Veteran Dan Smith and 20-year-old Danny Syvret found themselves mired in a tough situation in overstocked Hamilton one minute and in action against the St. Louis Blues the next. Syvret spent most of November with the big club and played in a total of 10 games before getting reassigned back to the Bulldogs where he remained for the rest of the year.

“I thought I’ve played pretty well,” Syvret described at the time. “I’ve been on for a few goals for and a few goals against, but the ones against it’s not like I’ve been getting burnt one on one or anything.”

While Syvret did not manage to hit the score sheet he did leave a positive impression on the coaches and management in Edmonton. Unfortunately, Syvret was a better NHL player than he was in the AHL, but having seen what he was able to deliver at the highest level will benefit the youngster and could earn him an even longer look at training camp next fall.

Matt Greene, D (Age 22) – The former captain of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux made his first appearance several weeks after his initial recall from the Iowa Stars. The Oilers pulled Greene up to Edmonton in early December and took him on an Eastern Conference road trip through Philadelphia, Long Island and New Jersey. However, a sore ankle prevented Greene from dressing in any of the games and he was subsequently sent back to Iowa at the conclusion of the trip.

Greene didn’t have to wait long for his second opportunity though as the Oilers again flew him back north across the border where he would sit in the press box until after Christmas. However, on Dec. 30 Greene made his NHL debut and in a 4-2 Oiler win over the visiting Nashville Predators. The 22-year-old has been with the team ever since.

The rugged rearguard has been a hit with the fans, the coaches and with his teammates since his arrival in the River City.

“He’s a mean kid, he likes to get on the body and he gives good hits, we’ve seen that a number of times in the games that he has played,” assistant coach Charlie Huddy said in February. “It’s tough for young guys to fit in but he’s done a good job of meshing with the older guys. The veteran guys all like him and they see what kind of player he’s going to be and they want to help him along. They know at the end of the day that he’s going to be a good player for us and they want to see him be successful.”

Jean-Francois Jacques, LW (Age 20) - Six games in early February, that was the extent of Jacques’ initiation to the NHL but although he also did not record a point, the former Baie-Comeau captain left an impression.

The smooth-skating power forward did not play a lot of minutes in the games he appeared in, but he made the most of his ice time by drilling opponents into the boards and creating momentum for his club. While initially pegged as a third or fourth line energy player at the NHL level, his offensive numbers in his first pro season in the minors suggests to the Oiler brass that Jacques could offer a whole lot more. Captain Jack will get a very long look next fall in training camp and could very well crack the opening night 23-man roster.

Jacques has been practicing in Edmonton just in case he gets the call to play in the NHL playoffs and he nearly did get into action in Game 4 on Thursday night.

Mathieu Roy, D (Age 22) – Often overlooked, Mathieu Roy managed to appear in one NHL game this past season and put forth a solid effort when he did. Roy is not being counted on to be more than a depth defenceman for the organization and that’s what he was this past year. When injuries infiltrated in Oilers line-up, the call went down to Hamilton and Roy dressed for his lone appearance in a 5-3 loss to the hapless St. Louis Blues.

On the farm, Roy struggled early before regaining his form. Scouts tell HF that Roy was trying to do too much for the first couple months of the schedule and once he settled down and returned to his comfort zone he was much more effective. Roy ended the AHL season with 19 points in 50 games played for the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Marc-Antoine Pouliot, C (Age 20) – The most exciting rookie debut of the year was probably that of Marc Pouliot. It was only eight games at the end of the year, but considering the pressure cooker Edmonton had become down the stretch and the performance that Pouliot delivered, it was extremely noteworthy. Pouliot scored in his third-ever NHL game, a 7-1 rout of the Phoenix Coyotes, and although it wasn’t a stylish one it was indeed memorable for the 20-year-old.

Pouliot logged over ten minutes in four of the eight games he appeared in and also slotted in on the power play on a few nights. Although he completed the schedule in Edmonton, Pouliot was named the Hamilton Bulldogs’ MVP. The pro rookie accumulated 45 points in 65 games during the course of the year and had really come on strong after the midway point of the calendar.

There was some debate as to whether or not Pouliot might draw into the line-up in the playoffs against Detroit, but that decision was taken out of head coach Craig MacTavish’s hands after Game 2 when Pouliot was diagnosed with mononucleosis and sent back to his home in Quebec. The likable forward upped his stock with his year end play and will get a longer look next fall, hopefully for his sake the illness does not hamper him for much of the offseason.

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