NASHVILLE, TN – Centre Noah Philp will make his NHL debut on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena against the Nashville Predators after being called up from the Bakersfield Condors earlier this week to help fill Connor McDavid’s absence from the lineup.

Forward Drake Caggiula is also expected to draw in at left wing over Derek Ryan on the fourth line, which also includes veteran winger Corey Perry.

“I think anytime you lose one of your star players, it hurts your team,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said pre-game on Thursday. “But often, I’ve seen it elevate guys’ games. Obviously, you never want to miss Conor McDavid, but so often, other players step up because we need them, and they’ll be getting more opportunities and more ice time, and they know they will be counted on a lot more.

“It’s not ideal missing Connor, but we’re trying to make the most out of it with other guys getting their opportunities.”

Philp’s rise to the NHL to make his debut tonight comes after the 26-year-old took the entire 2023-24 season away from hockey, which followed a strong debut professionally the year prior by finishing second in goals with the Condors (19) and concluding the season with 37 points in 70 games.

Before that, Philp played three seasons with the University of Alberta Golden Bears following a successful junior career spent with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice and Seattle Thunderbirds.

The Canmore, AB product stepped away from hockey last season for personal reasons and eventually started to train again in the new year, tracking to make his return to the game that ultimately arrived when he signed a one-year contract with the Oilers organization on July 1.

Philp came to Training Camp and impressed as one of the standouts who didn’t make the Opening Night roster, having posted two goals and an assist in Bakersfield’s first six AHL games this season.

During Edmonton’s eight-game exhibition schedule, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound centre suited up for five of those games and recorded two goals and an assist – scoring in a home win over Seattle on Sep. 28 after garnering a helper in a road loss to Winnipeg three nights earlier.

“Pick up where he left off,” Knoblauch said of his message to Philp. “At Training Camp, he was outstanding in the exhibition games that he played. That’s why he got the recall; just continue where he left off.”

Caggiula will play an NHL game for the first time since Feb. 3, 2023 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The season prior, the 30-year-old underwent neck fusion surgery as part of the Buffalo Sabres organization and was limited to only 18 games.

But since recovering and rejoining his drafted club in the Edmonton Oilers last summer, Caggiula has returned to form as a two-way scorer in the AHL, recording 37 points (13 goals) in 43 games last season in Bakersfield and leading the Condors early this year with five points in five games.

Goaltender Calvin Pickard was in the starter’s net at Thursday’s morning practice at Bridgestone Arena and is projected to receive his second start in three games after defeating the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday with 24 saves.

McDavid remains out with an ankle injury that will keep him out of the lineup for the next two to three weeks.

View the Oilers Projected Lineup vs. Nashville below:

Forwards

Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Arvidsson
Skinner – RNH – Hyman
Janmark – Henrique – Brown
Caggiula – Philp – Perry

Defence

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Dermott
Kulak – Emberson

Goalies

Pickard
Skinner