This in from Oilers Now host and team insider Bob Stauffer, his take on what incoming forward Isaac Howard — voted the Hobey Baker Award winner as the best player in U.S. college hockey last season — might bring to the Edmonton Oilers in 2025-26:

Howard, who won the Hobey Baker Award as the top NCAA men's hockey player last season, has a chance to go from the top line at Michigan State University to a top-six role alongside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl with the Oilers. It would be an impressive jump for the 21-year-old forward.

Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers trade for Hobey Baker winner from the Tampa Bay Lightning, sending a top prospect the other way to strengthen their roster ahead of a renewed Stanley Cup push.

This past season, Michigan State hockey had the top player in all of college hockey, Isaac Howard, who won the Hobey Baker award for what many thought would be one last ride. After a trade on Wednesday between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Edmonton Oilers, Howard will be leaving East Lansing after all.