Matthew Savoie: Everything You Need to Know About Edmonton Oilers’ New Signing – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

On Friday (July 5), the Edmonton Oilers acquired forward Matthew Savoie from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for forwards Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio.

Born in St. Albert, near Edmonton, Savoie recently helped the Moose Jaw Warriors win the Western Hockey League (WHL) championship and advance to the 2024 Memorial Cup.

Related: Oilers trade Ryan McLeod to Sabres for prospect Matt Savoie

Matthew, 20, is the younger brother of forward Carter Savoie, who was selected by Edmonton with the 100th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. After spending all of the last two seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Bakersfield Condors, Carter became an unrestricted free agent when the Oilers did not extend a qualifying offer to the winger.

McLeod was called up in the 40th^t overall by Edmonton in 2018 and made his NHL debut in 2021. Over parts of four seasons with the Oilers, he scored 32 goals and added 43 assists in 219 games. McLeod had seven goals and six assists in 56 postseason games for the Oilers.

Tullio, 126^t overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, spent the last two seasons with the Condors, scoring a combined 47 points in 117 AHL regular-season games.

There will be fans in Edmonton who are sad to see McLeod go, and certainly some who were eager to see if Tullio could make it to the NHL level. But in Savoie, the Oilers have a 20-year-old with a ton of potential. Here’s everything you need to know about the center’s hockey journey that led him to his hometown NHL team.

Savoie was compared to Crosby and MacKinnon

At age 14, while playing for the Northern Alberta X-Treme, Savoie was compared to NHL stars Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche.

“I hate using Sidney Crosby because of the way he skates. But he plays a similar style where he’s so competitive, fights for pucks and is very hard with his stick,” Brent Parker, ISS Hockey’s chief Western Canada scout, said at the time.

“I remember watching Nathan MacKinnon in the bantam with Shattuck St. Mary’s, and there’s some of that in there. I don’t think he’s as explosive a skater as MacKinnon, but he’s an awfully good skater.”

Savoie appeared in 31 games for the X-Treme in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League during the 2017–18 season, scoring 31 goals and adding 40 assists.

He was denied the status of an exceptional player

Savoie was selected first overall in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft by the Kootenay Ice, who were relocating to Winnipeg for the 2019-20 season.

Savoie was denied exceptional player status, which would have allowed him to play in the WHL at age 15, but was granted permission to play half a season as a 15-year-old in Winnipeg. He appeared in 22 games with the Ice in 2019-20, recording seven assists.

At the time, the WHL had never awarded exceptional player status, but has since done so twice: to Connor Bedard in 2020 and Landon DuPoint in 2024.

Savoie was drafted ninth overall by Buffalo.

After scoring 95 points in 62 games for Winnipeg during the 2021-22 WHL regular season, Savoie was selected ninth overall by the Sabres in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Buffalo received high marks for the selection. Savoie was ranked fourth among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings for the 2022 NHL Draft.

Analysts have raved about Savoie in their prospect profiles. For example, Matthew Somma of Smaht Scouting wrote, “Savoie is like a gnat in the offensive zone. He’s always buzzing, and no matter how many times you hit him, he won’t go away. You can’t stop Savoie from making plays in the offensive zone; you can only hope you can stop him. He’ll harass you on the forecheck, cause turnovers, attack the puck, and constantly keep his feet moving.

“Part of what makes Savoie so enjoyable to watch is that he never seems to be content to just stand there. He has to move and constantly change angles and paths for the defense, slowly wearing them down until they make a mistake and he can strike.”

Savoie already has professional experience

Savoie made his professional hockey debut in the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs, appearing in two games for the Rochester Americans, Buffalo’s AHL affiliate.

Matt Savoie, the ninth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, will be @AHL debut tonight @AmerksHockey in the second game of the Eastern Conference finals. 👊

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) May 25, 2023

He returned to Rochester on a fitness loan at the start of the 2023-24 AHL season and recorded five points in six games with the Americans. Savoie then made his NHL regular-season debut with the Sabres, playing 3:55 in a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 10 before being sent back to the WHL.

“It wasn’t a huge deal for me to be sent back to junior for another year, and I really refined some things in my game that I need to work on, that need to be a little better at the pro level,” Savoie said. “I think that’s a good level of development to work on.”

Savoie played in five teams in the 2023-24 season

Savoie began the 2023-24 WHL season with the Wenatchee Wild, the former Ice who moved from Winnipeg and adopted a new nickname. Over the holiday season, he represented his country at the 2024 World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden, recording one assist in four games for Team Canada.

On January 4, Wenatchee traded Savoie to the Warriors in exchange for seven future WHL Prospects Draft picks. In just 23 regular-season games with Moose Jaw, Savoie scored 19 goals and 28 assists. He scored 10 goals and 14 assists in 19 playoff games as the Warriors won the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the first time in franchise history.

Add in the Americans and Sabres, and Savoie has played for five different teams at four levels in just a few months. Savoie won’t play for as many teams next season. Expect a promising prospect to start the 2024-25 season in Bakersfield, and don’t be surprised if he plays for the Oilers at some point.