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There was no shortage of prospect players who made good plays for the rookie Edmonton Oilers in their 3-2 win over the rookie Winnipeg Jets on Friday in Penticton (game highlights).

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But two of them stood out to me, forward Xavier Bourgault and defenseman Michael Kesselring. Sign up to receive daily news headlines from the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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The Oilers roster was loaded with promising players, highly ranked members of The Cult of Hockey’s recent rankings, including #1 ranked Philip Broberg, #2 Dylan Holloway, #4 Bourgault, #5 Reid Schaefer, #8 Carter Savoie and # 9 Matvey Petrov. I’ll briefly comment on a few of these before diving into more detail about Bourgault and Kesselring. Dylan Holloway: Picked up an assist on the game-winning goal, jumping on a puck in the crease and setting up the cross crease, where teammate James Hamblin eventually powered it in. Holloway had the puck on a string at times, traveling quickly and dangerously around the offensive zone. If the Oilers were still stuck in the dark decade, it would be easy to imagine Holloway and Bourgault not only leading the Oilers out of camp, but earning roles in the Top 6. He also got an assist on Kesselring’s goal.

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Carter Savoie: Flashed his impressive ability several times, including on an early power play, taking the puck on his off-wing under the wing, moving inside and sending a horizontal arrow through the kill floor, right on the stick of Darien Kielb, who hit it home. Between Savoie and Bourgault, Bake is well supplied with sniping wingers.

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Maxiumus Wanner: I had never seen the kid play, but the 19-year-old made a very good first impression. He’s big, 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, but he also skates well. He was smooth and confident skating and protecting the puck, and made several sure plays to avoid Winnipeg’s forechecks. Ryan Fuddy: The rookie goaltender looked quick and smooth in net and also handled the puck extremely well. Philip Broberg: A fairly quiet game, but still strong, with Broberg skating miles with and without the puck and engaging in several dangerous offensive plays. Noah Philip. The big center is 24 years old, one to six years older than most of his teammates and opponents in this game, and it showed. He was strong on the boards and led the line of Matvei Petrov and Tyler Tullio to a number of successful forechecking stints.

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Michael Kesselring, 22. This was a huge game for Kesselring, a much-needed display of his maturity and ability. Kesselring had a good rookie season in the AHL, but he’s 22 now, time to show his stuff, time to get a Top 4 spot in the Bake. He started this game well, outplaying Broberg in this one. Kesselring was forever winning pucks in the d-zone and rushing them up the ice, often with positive results, including a drive down the wing where he fought off a defender and put the puck in the slot, only to see it deflected. Jets defender for Winnipeg own goal. Kesselring’s skating looked better than ever, both in terms of agility and speed, and that improvement is critical for the player. He has excellent size and a good head with the puck. If he can also mix in strong skating, he’ll have a shot at an NHL job down the road.

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Xavier Bourgault. Wow! What a show from the Oilers’ 2021 first-round pick, the Oilers young forward went over goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to take the 22nd spot. Then again, if the Oil’s top lineup wasn’t already loaded with talent, we fans would be talking Bourgault to the moon right now. He had a good-to-great game almost every time he touched the puck, and also showed some welcome hustle, including the game-winning goal, where he first ran up the ice and gained body position to avoid a puck, then went to the net, front-footed his control resulting in a deflection of the elf at Holloway. On another rush, he turned a Winnipeg d-man to be checked at the last minute by the Jets goalie. He also hit a dangerous backhand. He set up Holloway with a horizontal arrow through the floor for a wicked harpoon. Bourgault exudes intelligence and hockey skill, which bodes well for a fast start for him in the American Hockey League.

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