While many Edmonton Oilers fans may not be too worried about the state of the team’s prospect pool right now, one player in particular is making some noise.
The Oilers are firmly focused on winning the Stanley Cup this season after getting so close to glory last year but, down in the OHL, William Nicholl is giving fans some excitement about the future.
During training camp, much of the focus was set on 2024 first-round pick Sam O’Reilly as he had a prolonged stay with the Oilers in preseason before being sent back to the London Knights. A big season was expected of O’Reilly, but it has been his Knights teammate Nicholl who has garnered more attention.
A seventh-round pick of the Oilers’ last draft, Nicholl has managed to put up 19 points in the first 17 games of the OHL season. That includes a three-point effort against the Guelph Storm on Sunday afternoon.
Another day, another Nicholl one timer 🤙@EdmontonOilers | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/QiTD08D6Vp
— London Knights (@LondonKnights) November 10, 2024
Nicholl is currently leading all London forwards in points and is two ahead of Toronto Maple Leafs’ first-rounder Easton Cowan. The only player with more points for London this season is San Jose Sharks’ top prospect defenceman Sam Dickinson.
O’Reilly hasn’t looked terrible, but he is lagging behind Nicholl with four goals and 12 points in 15 games.
He’s been able to produce despite being moved around the lineup quite a bit. He has spent some time as a top-six winger for this Knights team, sometimes even playing on a line with O’Reilly, but has also been used as a third-line centre.
The sudden spark in production was not expected and Nicholl will almost certainly annihilate his previous OHL career high in points (20), goals (5), and assists (14) that he set last season with the Knights.
These results are also sorely needed by an Oilers organization that has struggled to find talent in the later rounds of the draft. As it stands, Edmonton has nothing to show for in its lineup when it comes to players drafted in 2020 and beyond.
This isn’t to say that we should expect Nicholl in the NHL any time soon, but to see such a rise in production from a seventh-round pick so early after drafting him is an encouraging sign.
Perhaps both O’Reilly and Nicholl can form something for the Oilers in a few years.