After just two years at the college level, Carter Savoie has decided to turn pro. The Edmonton Oilers prospect has signed an amateur tryout with the Bakersfield Condors for the rest of the 2021-22 season, allowing him to play AHL games down the stretch. Had he signed an entry-level deal with the Oilers for this season, he would not have been eligible to be assigned to the minor leagues. Instead, his ELC will likely follow for 2022-23.
Savoie, 20, is fresh off a national championship with the University of Denver, where he quickly turned himself from a fourth-round afterthought to a legitimate NHL prospect. At times considered just “the older brother” of Matthew Savoie, a top prospect for the 2022 draft, Carter quickly showed he should also be considered a future NHL option. In 39 games for DU this season, he scored 23 goals and 45 points, earning a Hobey Baker nomination and now a chance to hit the professional ranks.
It’s not like offensive success is anything new for the young forward. In his final year in the AJHL, a junior league that allowed him to maintain his NCAA eligibility, Savoie racked up 53 goals and 99 points in just 54 games for the Sherwood Park Crusaders. Even as a freshman at Denver he scored 13 times in 24 games, showing off his uncanny ability to arrive in the right spot at the right time in order to finish plays.
For an organization that has had so much trouble developing mid-round picks over the last decade-plus, Savoie looks like something of an anomaly in the Oilers’ system. He’ll now face his biggest test to date, transitioning to the AHL level where his size–he stands just 5’9″–still could be an obstacle.