Well, we’re going to have a new Number 2 in our Top 25 Under 25 this year. The Tampa Bay Lightning traded the rights to Isaac Howard to the Edmonton Oilers for forward Sam O’Reilly. Thus ends the saga of what to do with Ike.
O’Reilly, 19, was the Oilers first round pick (32nd overall) in the 2024 NHL draft. He is a right-shot center that stands 6’1″, and weighs 190 lbs. Last season, with the Memorial Cup champion London Knights, he put up 71 regular-season points (28 goals, 43 assists) in 62 games and added another 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) in 17 playoff games. He’ll likely return to London for another season, but there is potential down the road for this Toronto native.
The first thing most scouting reports mention about O’Reilly is his defensive prowess. He’s a good skater who doesn’t have blazing speed, does a lot of the little things right, and doesn’t shy away from contact. Most of the pre-2024 scouting reports had him as a high-second round pick with some question marks about how his offense might progress. The prognosticators were certain that he could earn a spot as a middle-six center based just on his defensive abilities. With the growth he’s shown over the past year, he’s starting to look more like an ideal 2C who should be able to translate his scoring to the pro level.
While he might not have the ceiling offensively that Howard possesses, his game should play well in the rough-and-tumble Eastern Conference. He’s also solid in the face-off dot and will give the Lightning a right-hand option to take draws in the future. He has already signed his entry-level contract, but if he doesn’t make the Lightning out of training camp, the deal will slide until he finishes his junior hockey career.
O’Reilly displays the hockey IQ that the Lightning like in the players and has excellent vision on the ice. His passing skills may be a touch underrated. He’s more likely to be someone that sets up offense instead of finishing off plays, but if everything breaks right, he could be an asset on a second-unit power play as well. Based on all of the reports, he’s a higher-end version of the type of prospects that the Lightning like to have in their system – no one skill stands out, but he does a lot of things really, really well.
Following the trade, Howard signed his entry-level contract with the Oilers and will likely join the team this season. Howard gets his shot at the NHL, and the Lightning extract more value out of the deal than taking their chances with a future draft pick. Unfortunately the one group left without a date at the dance is Michigan State. They lose one of their top offensive talents after some of their potential replacements (cough, Gavin McKenna, cough, Ryder Ritchie, cough) commit elsewhere.
While the Lightning don’t land a NHL-ready prospect, they do get a player that they can project a little bit better than if they had settled for a first-round pick. O’Reilly also fits their timeline a little better. With their top-six pretty much set, they can let him finish off his junior career this season, and then start in Syracuse the season after that. Howard was pushing to get into the line-up as soon as possible, and forcing him into a fourth-line role wouldn’t have been the best use of his skillset. How Edmonton uses him if he makes the team will be interesting.
It’s a case where both organizations “win” the trade at the time of the deal. The tricky part of the deal was finding value from a team that was willing to give Howard what he wanted as well. Now, the Lightning don’t have this lingering over the summer, and they get a quality prospect back instead of a 2027 first-round pick (the deal they initially turned down per reports). Edmonton gets a dynamic prospect who could theoretically step into the NHL on a line with Leon Draisaitl. Which organization “wins” in the end won’t be decided for a couple of seasons.
Best of luck down the road Ike Howard, and welcome to organization Sam O’Reilly.
