Matt Savoie grew up in an Edmonton Oilers house.
The home was in St. Albert but it was filled with orange and blue swag, according to the 20-year-old, one of two skaters from this city vying for a roster position at the Oilers’ 2024-25 Rookie Camp, which kicked off at Rogers Place Wednesday, Sept. 11.
“I definitely have a (Ryan) Nugent-Hopkins sweater,” he told reporters at the downtown arena. “My dad’s got a bunch of jerseys. We were definitely an Oilers household growing up.”
After his run to the Memorial Cup tournament with the 2023-24 Western Hockey League champion Moose Jaw Warriors, Savoie got back to Edmonton just in time to enjoy the Oilers run to the Stanley Cup final – quietly.
“I just hung out with some friends and watched the game and cheered for the Oilers in secret,” he smiled. “Now I can openly be with them.”
Savoie was picked ninth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and traded to Edmonton in July for Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio. Clad in a black alo branded “off-duty” cap and a navy Oilers windbreaker, the right-handed centre told reporters as an “Edmonton guy” who grew up going to Oilers games, Wednesday was filled with “excitement.
“Watching the playoff run they went on, and being around the city and the buzz, it’s exciting to come to this team right now,” he beamed. “Looking at the roster and the additions they made in the summer, they’re going for it. It’s exciting to come to this kind of group and hopefully get a good opportunity.”
Savoie has been up and down in the Sabres farm system since he was drafted. He suffered a shoulder injury during training camp for the 2022-23 season and ended up playing for the Winnipeg Ice (which moved to Washington state and became the Wenatchee Wild) in the WHL and the Rochester Americans in the AHL. He logged one game with the Sabres in 2023-24 before landing with the Warriors and challenging for a Memorial Cup.
It was “a little bit hectic."
“I felt like I was always on the move, playing for different teams,” Savoie said. “It was a lot of fun, though. I got to experience a lot of different things and play for a lot of different coaches and with different teammates. I just tried to take it all in and take every experience for what it was.”
The Oilers selected Matt’s brother, Carter Savoie 100th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The left winger, who will play for TPS Turku in Finland in 2024-25. He played two seasons with the Sherwood Park Crusaders and spent two years at the University of Denver before spending three seasons with the Bakersfield Condors, the Oilers AHL affiliate, scoring 33 points with 18 goals and 42 PIMs in 109 games.
“It’s definitely nice having a brother in the organization prior just to have a little bit more familiarity,” Matt said Wednesday. “I used to skate in the summers a couple of times here.”
Lajoie, who started September as a University of Alberta student also grew up attending Oilers, Oil Kings and Golden Bears games.
He spent his final year in the Dub with the Oil Kings, scoring 58 points including 26 goals, both career highs and a new franchise single season record for goals by a defenceman.
He said as a rookie camp invite, he’s just taking it “one day at a time.”
Both players will get a chance to show off their skills at the annual Young Stars Classic in Penticton, this weekend, where they’ll face off against hopefuls from the Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames.
