EDMONTON — Feeling ready to lace up his skates again, the juices started flowing for Noah Philp almost from the moment his blades made their first carves of the ice.
After announcing in June 2023 that he was going to step away from hockey for personal reasons — what he called Friday a “gut feeling” — Philp spent months away from the rink as he pondered the road ahead.
He hadn’t played a game since April 2023, when the Bakersfield Condors were bounced from the AHL playoffs. Finally, in March, almost a full year later after he spent time travelling and recharging, Philp decided he wanted to take part in a free skate in his hometown of Canmore, Alberta.
“I just wanted to try,” he said. “I always loved playing the game. It’s just so fun for me. You get to be creative.
“I started messing around and doing different moves. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I feel like I can come back.’”
Sunday was the next phase of that comeback for Philp as he centred Mike Hoffman and James Stefan in a 3-2 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets.
The @EdmontonOilers win Pre-Season Game #1 with a 3-2 OT victory over Winnipeg.
Both teams kept the majority of their top players out.Sam O Reilly 1G, smart two-way game.
Noah Philp 9-3 on faceoffs, got better as game went on.
Raphael Lavoie, 1G, can still shoot!— Bob Stauffer (@Bob_Stauffer) September 23, 2024
If Philp wasn’t the best Oilers forward, he was certainly on the short list. With a fourth-line centre job potentially up for grabs, Philp showed all the makings of a bottom-six pivot in his 14 minutes, 13 seconds of work.
He’s big — listed at 6-foot-3 and 198 pounds — and moved well. He was smart and positionally aware, and he was adept in the faceoff circle. Philp won nine of his 12 draws Sunday.
“What we want from him is what he provided today,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Faceoffs are a huge part of it, especially being a right-handed centreman.
“I have a lot of respect for him. For a guy that has not played a game in 16 or 17 months, to come into an NHL exhibition game and play as well as he did, that’s a good first step.”
Philp appears to have picked up his career where he left it off all those months ago.
Oilers management was thrilled with his second half of the 2022-23 campaign, his first in the pros after signing out of the University of Alberta Golden Bears program. That coincided with sliding over to centre from wing, allowing him to play his natural position. Philp had 32 points over his final 42 games. It’s why the Oilers issued him a qualifying offer to retain his rights in case he ever wanted to play again.
Had he decided not to put his career on hold, Philp would have had an outside chance of earning a job at camp a year ago.
Back then, the Oilers lacked a true No. 4 centre. Longtime NHL veteran Brandon Sutter was at camp on a tryout offer after missing 2 1/2 years of action because of long COVID-19 symptoms and was seen as the best hope. He opted to retire midway through the preseason, leaving the Oilers with Mattias Janmark and Derek Ryan to share the position early on.
James Hamblin eventually earned some time there and played 31 games. The since-departed Dylan Holloway got a trial run, too. The last centre slot wound up being shared by Ryan and trade deadline acquisition Sam Carrick down the stretch before Ryan got the lion’s share of the duties in the playoffs.
Oddly enough, the job Philp is gunning for belongs to Ryan — another former Golden Bear who got his NHL start at age 29. Hamblin and Lane Pederson, who spent last season with AHL Bakersfield, are also up for consideration.
“That’s a goal for everybody,” Philp said when asked if he feels he can make the team. “It’d be shortsighted if I said I didn’t think that. Everyone’s looking to reach that, so I’d be, too.”
There are a few things working against him other than the Oilers roster being mostly set.
In addition to taking almost a full year off — his second season in the last four not playing because Canadian university hockey was cancelled in 2020-21 because of COVID — Philp lacks pro experience. That lack of experience means he’s waivers exempt, so he’ll have to outplay those requiring waivers — namely Ryan — and perhaps significantly.
Philp also hasn’t had much opportunity to progress as a penalty killer, something the organization felt was necessary for him to master before becoming an NHL regular. At least he got 43 seconds of short-handed time as the Oilers killed off the only Jets power play Sunday.
So, circumstances aren’t in his favour.
“I’m not going to rule anything out,” Knoblauch said. “I’d think it would be difficult to make it immediately. Not too many guys take that much time off and then come back.
“I’m getting to know the player. The player that I’m getting to know, I like. We have some more exhibition games. We’ll see how he plays. Of course, as we play more exhibition games, the level of play will rise. It’ll be a good test for him.”
For all the time Philp has missed, at least he isn’t coming off a significant injury. He isn’t in his mid- or late 30s, either. No, Philp is 26 and should be in the prime of his career.
“Everyone comes into their own as they get older, and they definitely get smarter on the ice,” he said. “That’s definitely the focus for me. I’m trying to be patient.”
Philp is going to give this his best shot after his extended absence.
It’ll be a magnificent story if he bucks the odds and makes the season-opening roster. If he doesn’t, he’ll be pushing from the minors for a recall at some point.
“Showing the best that I feel I can right now would be my ideal camp,” Philp said.
“I feel as good as I ever have. (Playing) games is the way to get in the groove. The more I can play, the better.”
(Photo of Noah Philp chasing Winnipeg forward Rasmus Kupari during Sunday’s game: Perry Nelson / Imagn Images)
