Edmonton Oilers deal with Lightning for Hobey Baker winner Ike Howard
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Howard had 52 points (26 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games in a historic season for Michigan State, which won both the conference tournament and the regular-season championship to become the first program to capture the Big Ten Double.
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The Oilers have signed him to a three-year entry-level contract.
'I've watched every single Oilers playoff game in the last couple years,' said Howard, who played two years with the Spartans, earning 88 points (34 goals, 54 assists) over 73 games, and is fresh off a gold medal at the 2025 world hockey championship in May with Team USA. 'Just watching, it's such high-paced, skilled and fast. Work ethic first, I think that's kind of exactly my game and I think that's why this could be such a great fit and why I was really excited.'
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But before you go penciling the promising 21-year-old's name on the top line next to Connor McDavid, or even with Leon Draisaitl on an Oilers second line in desperate need of a sidekick to fit with the NHL's reigning goal scorer, it might be prudent to remember Howard, drafted 31st overall by the Lightning in 2022, has yet to play a minute in the pros. Or attend a professional fall training camp, for that matter.
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Still, Howard holds high expectations of himself when it comes to the potential of running with the Oilers' big dogs.
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'I think that's an unreal opportunity, I don't think you can get any better than that, those are two of the best players in the world. Could be the two best. It's pretty incredible, I can't wait to share the ice with those guys, pick their brain,' said Howard.
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'They're both different in their own ways and they're both so talented and so good, so just hearing that is pretty incredible.'
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What this move does, is put the Oilers a couple years further ahead in terms of the development pipeline when considering the piece they had to give up in return, because to get something, you have to give something.
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And O'Reilly was on track to one day become the third-line centre for the Oilers, who may have ended up having a change of heart at that spot earlier this off-season, when they signed trade-deadline acquisition Trent Frederic to an eight-year deal.
The 19-year-old O'Reilly is coming off of a Memorial Cup championship season where he recorded 71 points (28 goals, 43 assists) in 62 games with the London Knights, while adding 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 17 playoff games on the way to back-to-back Ontario Hockey League championships.
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