2024 Edmonton Oilers prospects
#5 C Noah Philp
By Ira Cooper, Cult of Hockey special correspondent
At the end of the 2021-22 season, I had never heard of Noah Philip. If I were asked who my favorite prospect was at the end of the 2022-23 season, without hesitation I would have named Noah Philp.
The progression that Noah Philp showed during the course of that season was phenomenal. He started the season as a 4th line winger and sometimes as a healthy scratch. He finished the season as one of Coach Colin Chaulk’s most relied-on forwards, a player he trusted on the PK, for important defensive zone face-offs and in all high-leverage situations, even deploying him as the 1C at times.
Philp earned the trust of his coaching staff by playing fantastic two-way hockey and turned himself into a real prospect, a player of note in the Oilers’ system.
Unfortunately, not long after the end of the 2022-23 season, it was announced that Philp was “retiring” from hockey for personal reasons. I put the word “retire” in quotes as he never officially filed retirement paper. I always hoped that he was merely taking a break. As it turns out, my hopes came true and, after a season off, Philp made the decision to return to the game and signed a one-year, two-way contract early this off-season.
The announcement last spring that Noah would not be an option for the organization this past season hit me hard as I remain convinced that Philp would have played games in the NHL and perhaps even solidified himself over Derek Ryan in the lineup.
This is not a criticism of Ryan, who can still give the team some good minutes in stretches, but I see Philp as the clear Ryan replacement as Ryan ages out (and this has nothing to do with some overlap in career paths, starting at the University of Alberta and staring in North American pro hockey at an advanced age).
In some respects, Philp is a “bigger Derek Ryan”. He’s a 6’3, 210-pound right-shot center who is an extremely smart defensive player that is great on face-offs and strong on the penalty kill. His skating is not his strong suit however, to my eye, it improved greatly over his one pro season and should not hold him back. In addition to his strong defensive play and overall responsibleness, he is a menace on the forecheck. He’s not a huge banger but he does use his big frame and a great stick to win battles, Additionally, while Philp’s puck skills are just OK, he has an absolutely wicked release and can beat goalies with a great shot.
As I mentioned earlier, Philp started the season as a depth forward but finished the season as one of the coaching staff’s most used forwards and his splits are indicative of earning his deployment:
2022: 28 GP, 3-2-5
2023: 42 GP, 16-16-32
During his year away from the game, Philp spent time with family but eventually traveled Europe and upon his return, he ran a hockey camp in the mountains for junior-aged players and young pros and kept himself in great shape (from his own account).
It would be reasonable to expect that, after a year away, Philp will need some time to get his game back to where it was at the end of the 2022-23 season and, to be honest, we can’t be assured that he will even be able to get there – for all we know the second half of his one pro-season was simply a heater and not indicative of future play and continued development. At the same time, on the presumption that he can get back to where he left off, I think he is the perfect player to split the 4C role with Derek Ryan who most Oilers’ fans seem to agree should not be in the lineup nightly due to his advanced age.
Philp’s competition in the organization would be James Hamblin (who in my opinion has limited upside as a replacement level fill-in player), Jayden Grubbe (who I have dubbed “a poor man’s Noah Philp” as a similar style player but simply not as good at this point) and, in the future, recent 1st round draft pick, Sam O’Reilly. All those players are 2-way centers that could potentially find themselves in a 4C role (O’Reilly having the most potential to play up the lineup in due course).
Philp was an older rookie pro a year ago and is now 26 years old (just turned on August 31). While this will only be his second professional season, he is a very mature prospect who is all but NHL-ready if he can regain his previous form.
I expect NHL games from Philp this season.
At the Cult of Hockey
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