Changing of the Guard: Oil Kings Lose Major Pieces Ahead of 2026–27 Season

September 15, 20266 min read

The Edmonton Oil Kings will enter the 2026–27 season looking dramatically different from the team that finished the previous campaign.

This is not simply the usual turnover associated with junior hockey. Edmonton has lost its five leading scorers from 2025–26, its captain, several alternate captains and important players at virtually every position.

Some have graduated into professional hockey. Others are taking advantage of the new pathway from the Canadian Hockey League to the NCAA. One was traded, while another elected to continue his career in U Sports.

The departures leave the Oil Kings with an enormous amount of production, experience and leadership to replace.

Edmonton’s two leading scorers are moving on

The most noticeable absences will be Lukas Sawchyn and Miroslav Holinka.

Sawchyn led Edmonton with 88 points in 68 games, recording 27 goals and 61 assists. His 61 assists were the third-highest single-season total in the modern history of the Oil Kings.

He will play NCAA hockey at Arizona State University in 2026–27, a commitment Edmonton officially announced before his final WHL season. Sawchyn leaves after producing the best offensive season of his junior career and establishing himself as one of the WHL’s leading playmakers.

Holinka finished immediately behind him with 37 goals and 80 points in 59 games. He led the Oil Kings in goals and combined with Sawchyn to produce 168 points.

The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Holinka in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Draft and signed him to a three-year entry-level contract in July 2025. He was assigned to the Toronto Marlies following the conclusion of Edmonton’s season.

There remains some uncertainty about Holinka’s exact assignment for 2026–27, but not about his Oil Kings status. Edmonton referred to Holinka as a graduating player when discussing its import situation ahead of the 2026 CHL Import Draft. He is expected to begin his professional career somewhere within Toronto’s organization rather than return to junior hockey.

Calling Holinka a confirmed full-time member of the Marlies would be premature. Calling him a confirmed departure from Edmonton would not be.

The NCAA takes a significant portion of Edmonton’s core

Sawchyn is far from the only Oil King making the move to college hockey.

Captain Gavin Hodnett is joining the University of Nebraska Omaha after recording 50 points in 41 games during an injury-shortened final season in Edmonton.

Hodnett spent his entire WHL career with the Oil Kings and finished with 245 points in 250 regular-season games. His departure removes considerably more than offence from the lineup. Edmonton must also replace the captain who represented the organization through its transition from a rebuilding team back into a playoff contender.

Hodnett will have a familiar face beside him in Omaha. Defenceman Carter Sotheran has also committed to the Mavericks for 2026–27.

Acquired from Portland in January, Sotheran provided an immediate offensive force from the blue line. He finished the season with 72 points between the Winterhawks and Oil Kings and was named WHL Player of the Week in February.

Blake Fiddler is heading to the University of Denver. The Seattle Kraken prospect served as an alternate captain in his final Edmonton season and leaves behind a substantial hole on the right side of the defence. Denver has included Fiddler on its official 2026–27 roster.

Ethan MacKenzie, Edmonton’s fourth-leading scorer with 58 points, is joining the University of North Dakota. MacKenzie was subsequently selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2026 NHL Draft, but his college commitment means his next regular-season games are expected to come with North Dakota rather than Edmonton.

Landon Hanson is also moving into the NCAA after recording 24 goals and 55 points. He has committed to Sacred Heart University for the upcoming season.

Max Curran will join the University of Massachusetts. Although Curran’s season was cut short by injury, he remained an important part of Edmonton’s top-six forward group and produced at better than a point-per-game pace before being sidelined.

The Oil Kings have officially announced each of those college commitments. Edmonton is therefore losing Sawchyn, Sotheran, MacKenzie, Hanson, Hodnett, Fiddler and Curran to NCAA programs in the same offseason. Edmonton’s official commitment archive lists each player and destination.

Jecho enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program

Adam Jecho is another confirmed departure from Edmonton, although his immediate hockey future is now secondary to his health and well-being.

The St. Louis Blues selected Jecho in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft and signed the Czech forward to a three-year entry-level contract in March 2025.

He recorded 10 goals and 36 points in 47 games during an injury-interrupted 2025–26 season, then added four points in seven playoff games. Jecho also served as an alternate captain during his third and final season with the Oil Kings.

On September 11, the NHL and NHL Players’ Association announced that Jecho would be unavailable to the Blues for an indefinite period while receiving care through the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. No additional information or potential return timeline was disclosed.

Jecho has completed his WHL career, but it would be inappropriate to speculate about where or when he might play next. The priority is allowing him the necessary time and support to receive care.

The Oil Kings, their supporters and the broader hockey community will undoubtedly be wishing Jecho well as he takes that time away from the game. The NHLPA’s official announcement can be found here.

Together, Jecho, Miroslav Holinka and Max Curran account for all three import players Edmonton carried last season. Their departures allowed the Oil Kings to reshape their import group through the 2026 CHL Import Draft.

Pederson traded and Dahlen chooses U Sports

The turnover extends beyond Edmonton’s highest-profile graduates.

Defenceman Rhys Pederson was traded to the Vancouver Giants in July. The 2006-born defender brought size and experience to Edmonton’s blue line, but will now compete for an overage position in Vancouver.

Forward Luke Dahlen has also left the organization. The Oil Kings announced in September that Dahlen elected to forgo his final season of WHL eligibility to pursue an opportunity in U Sports. Edmonton confirmed Dahlen’s decision in its September roster update.

Those moves further reduce the number of veteran players available to surround Edmonton’s returning young core.

An extraordinary amount of production must be replaced

The size of the challenge becomes clear by looking at Edmonton’s leading scorers from last season:

Lukas Sawchyn — 88 points
Miroslav Holinka — 80 points
Carter Sotheran — 72 points
Ethan MacKenzie — 58 points
Landon Hanson — 55 points

All five are gone.

That list alone represents 353 points of 2025–26 regular-season production. It does not include the contributions of Hodnett, Jecho, Curran, Fiddler or the other departing players.

Not every point will have to be replaced internally. New imports, trades and younger players earning larger roles can distribute the offence differently. Edmonton should also benefit from the continued development of players such as Joe Iginla, Dylan Dean, Andrew O’Neill, Jaxon Fuder and Noa Ta’amu.

Still, there is no avoiding the reality: the Oil Kings are replacing nearly an entire leadership group and a substantial portion of the lineup that drove their return to the postseason.

The next generation takes over

The departures do not necessarily mean Edmonton is headed for another extended rebuild.

The Oil Kings have accumulated a promising collection of younger players, including several who gained important experience last season. The organization also had two first-round selections in the 2026 CHL Import Draft and has continued signing prospects from recent WHL drafts.

Edmonton’s remaining veterans will be asked to take on larger responsibilities, while its younger players will receive opportunities that were unavailable behind last season’s established stars.

The question is not whether the Oil Kings can replace Sawchyn, Holinka, Sotheran, MacKenzie and the rest of the departing class individually. Expecting any one player to replace an 88-point season or immediately reproduce Sotheran’s offence from the blue line would be unrealistic.

Instead, Edmonton must determine whether a deeper collection of developing players can replace those contributions collectively.

The 2025–26 Oil Kings proved the organization was ready to compete again. The 2026–27 team must now prove that progress can survive one of the most significant roster turnovers the franchise has experienced in recent years.