Noah Philp made the most of his time with the Oilers

After impressing the Edmonton Oilers during training camp, former Golden Bear Noah Philp got the chance to live out his National Hockey League (NHL) dream.

After playing a season and eight games with the Bears, Philp joined the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League (AHL). He later took a season off from playing, but then showed up to an NHL training camp and played like he never stopped. So it came as no surprise when Philp signed a one-year entry level contract with the Oilers worth $750,000.

What did surprise fans was when the Oilers put Philp on loan to the Condors until a call up was needed. However, Philp wasn’t disappointed at all, in fact he agreed with the decision. In an interview with Sports Net, Philp said that he “wouldn’t change a thing.” This makes sense when you consider that he’s only played one season’s worth of games in the past four years.

Well, to the disappointment of every Oilers fan out there, Connor McDavid was out day-to-day due to an ankle injury. To fill the forward spot, Philp came up to play three NHL regular season games.

Philp’s style of play did not disappoint

After a few games in the NHL, fans were able to develop an idea of Philp’s overall style of play in a new league.

One of the biggest improvements Philp needed to make throughout his time in the NHL was his speed when racing to the puck and in between zones. The more aggressive Philp can be when chasing the puck, the more involved he’ll become in the play. However, if his speed is held up because he’s setting up a hit in order to strip the puck, that’s a different story.

When he first stepped on the ice, you might have been a little underwhelmed by Philp’s performance during his three games. He tended to start the game slow by following the puck, while never actually getting in front of it. Was this a result of uncertainty when it comes to playing with the big boys? Probably, but it means that overtime Philp will jump into the play sooner with less hesitancy.

Once the second period would hit, Philp would play like he was actually in the NHL. He became aggressive with opposing players, got involved in the play, and created five on five scoring opportunities.

That style of play was expected from the larger center and consistent with his performance at the Oilers training camp.

Where did Philp fit in with the Oilers?

While Philp did not play on any of the special teams with the Oilers, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Oilers are sporting a 60 per cent success rate on the penalty kill as the worst in the league. With a well established power play unit, Philp would have a hard time transitioning into that role.

At Philp’s NHL debut on October 31, he had 11 minutes and 54 seconds of playing time, the most time he had during any games.

In the first period of the game, Philp got an assist on Corey Perry’s goals and his first NHL point. In the third period of the same game, Perry assisted on Philp’s attempted goal with a pass that Perry easily could have scored from. During his last two games, Philp seemed the most comfortable when playing on Perry’s line.

With McDavid back in the lineup, Philp was sent back to Bakersfield after a successful NHL debut.