The Edmonton Oilers’ AHL coach has revealed how the team plans on using new trade pickup Matthew Savoie if he isn’t able to crack the NHL lineup this season.
After acquiring the 20-year-old Savoie in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres last week, there has been plenty of speculation on how the Oilers plan on using him for this upcoming season.
Savoie is primed to turn pro, and while he tore up the WHL last season, there is no guarantee that he will be an NHL regular this upcoming year. He has just one NHL game under his belt and just six in the AHL.
A natural centerman, it’s unlikely that the 2022 ninth-overall pick will be able to crack a very deep depth chart at that position. Instead, Savoie’s best shot at an NHL job will likely come on the wing.
Despite this, Bakersfield Condors coach Colin Chaulk revealed on OilersNow earlier this week that he intends to use Savoie as a centerman if he goes down the AHL next season.
“We know that he’s a centreman and that’s what management has chatted with us briefly on where they’d like to see him,” Chaulk said. “He’s been able to score, able to make plays at the junior level and [was] a big part to get Moose Jaw to the Memorial Cup.
“I’m excited to get the opportunity to work with him.”
Savoie has played a bit of everything in his professional career to date. In his lone NHL game with the Sabres last season he was used on the right wing, he was then shifted to the left wing for his brief stint in the AHL before eventually moving back to centre when he was playing in the WHL.
When he met with Edmonton reporters earlier this week, the topic of where he would like to play came up.
“Wherever they need me,” Savoie said. “I feel comfortable; I’ve played all three positions pretty much all the way growing up, so I feel good in all three.”
It’s a bold move to keep Savoie as a centreman if he won’t be playing that position in the NHL. It will, however, give the team that much more flexibility when he is ready to leap into the big leagues.