As we turn the calendar pages into 2026, we are looking forward to a strong finish to the regular season and hopefully a long run into playoffs in the Spring. Before we get there, let’s catch up on the month of December and what you may have missed.

Team Stats

With only 7 games in December due to an extended break for the holiday season, and many players taking time to represent their countries at the World Juniors, the Oil Kings finished an up and down month with a 4-1-2 record and find themselves securely seated smong the Top 3 teams in the Eastern Conference alongside the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Prince Albert Raiders. 

The month saw 3 games go into overtime, with the Oil Kings only managing secure victory in one of those 3. They went 2-1-1 on home ice, and 2-0-1 on the road. Conveniently, the Oil Kings saw the Red Deer Rebels twice this month, winning both, and they played the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3 times and went 2-0-1, which definitely padded some stats and helped them right the ship after a tough start to the month. Against teams not from Alberta, Edmonton lost a tight game to the Prince Albert Raiders for the 2nd time this season, and then another to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The powerplay has taken a step back on the season, sitting at only 20% overall after the team went 2 for 24 with the man advantage in December and even allowed 2 shorthanded goals against.. Conversely, the penalty kill continues to be one of the team’s biggest strengths, as they killed off 22 of 25 shorthanded opportunities in the month.

Player Stats - Leaders

Leading the team for the month was none other than Miroslav Holinka and Lukas Sawchyn, as the Oil Kings top line duo continues to lead the team in all categories for the season. Holinka provided 7 goals (including a hat trick) and 11 points to bring his season totals to 21 goals, and 28 assists for 49 points at the turn of the calendar. Lukas Sawchyn was right behind him with 4 goals and 10 points bringing his totals to 16 goals and 29 assists for 45 points at the end of the 2025 year. 

Gavin Hodnett made his highly anticipated return from injury on December 27th, and he started lighting up the scoreboard like the Griswold House before Christmas. In only 3 games after his return, he provided 9 assists over 15 team goals. After missing 2 whole months of the season, the Captain looks like a man on a mission to make up for lost time. He finishes the 2025 portion of the season with 12 points over 11 games played, and looks to keep it going with a hot start to 2026.

Other stats of note for the month: Andrew O’Neill provided 3 goals in the month to bring his total to 14 on the season; Landon Hanson and Parker Alcos each had identical 2 goal, 3 assist stat lines for the month; and Kayden Stroeder had his first 2 goal game of the season.

In the goalie crease, the healthy return of Ethan Simcoe to end November meant the return of the rotating goalie crease as he and Parker Snell continue to alternate starts through the season. Simcoe finished the month with a 2-0-2 record, a 2.47 GAA, and a .895 Sv%. Returning from injury clearly took some time to shake off some cobwebs, as Simcoe continued to improve game over game through the month with fewer goals allowed and better stats each game.

Parker Snell saw 3 starts in the month and looked a lot more like the goaltender from October than the one who took over the starting job during Simcoe’s injury. He finished 2-1-0 with a 2.37 GAA and a .883  Sv%.

Milestones

Lukas Sawchyn celebrated the number 100 a couple times in the month of December. First he reached 100 WHL Games on December 28th, and then scored his 100th WHL point 2 days later. Joe Iginla also reached 100 WHL Games on December 28th.

Miroslav Holinka scored first WHL Hat Trick on December 28th. Austin Zemlak joined the team and recorded his first point as an Oil King on December 30th. Matheas Hejda and Holden Wouters each received call-ups to play in their first career WHL games, Hejda on December 14th, and Wouters on December 27th. 

Ethan MacKenzie (Canada), Blake Fiddler (USA), Adam Jecho (Czechia) and Max Curran (Czechia) all received invites to World Juniors camps, with Fiddler being the only one not to be named to the final rosters.  

Injury Updates

Luke Powell continues to be out indefinitely with a listed Upper body injury. He has not played since November 2nd against the Swift Current Broncos.

Rhys Pederson last played on December 16th in Lethbridge, and is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Interestingly, both Powell and Pederson were injured in games where they also dropped the gloves, which may or may not be coincidence.

Adam Jecho last played on December 7 before heading to World Juniors camp. Though he was named to Czechia’s roster, a hand injury suffered during camp ruled him out of the tournament and he is currently listed as week-to-week.

New arrival Jaxon Fuder last played on December 13th with Red Deer, prior to being traded to Edmonton on December 27th. His injury is listed as lower-body and also a week-to-week recovery. 

Roil Reserves

Lots of moving pieces for the Oil Kings in December as there were call-ups and re-assignments throughout the month. Jensen Marsh returned for 1 game and Matheas Hejda got 2 games before being re-assigned, Holden Wouters made his WHL debut, and Matt Williams played in the last 4 games of the calendar year. 

At their junior levels, each has continued to play well enough to be on the Oil Kings radar. Marsh had 2 goals in 6 games for Drumheller in December, Matt Williams had 1 goal in 5 games for Whitecourt prior to his call-up, Hejda only ended up in 3 games for NAX U18 Prep in the CSSHL but had an assist in his first game back after his callup to Edmonton, and Wouters started heating up at St.George’s with 4 points in 3 games at the end of November before adding 2 more assists in 2 games in December which likely earned him the call-up to the Oil Kings.

Elsewhere in the Roil Reserves, Tucker Tullikopf is currently on a 10 game point streak for the Camrose Kodiaks. He has 7 points in 7 games in December, and 12 points overall in his past 10 games played. He now has 34 points in 30 games for Camrose this year. Presley Kerner meanwhile had 4 points in 6 December games, bringing his season total to 7 points over 24 games.

In the CSSHL, Oil Kings 1st round pick Chris Kokkoris has been absent ever since receiving a Silver at the WHL Cup Gold Medal game. Player injuries aren’t released publicly at this level, so the cause of his absence remains a mystery. 2nd round pick Cole Landreville continues to be a key contributor for his Pilot Mound Academy, adding 1 assist in 1 December game to bring his season up to 18 points in 15 games.

December Pulse Check: 

• Kayson Anderson had 4 points in 5 games for the Estevan Bears (SMAAAHL). Now has 26 points in 27 games played.
• Rail Schollar returned to the Calgary Northstars (AEHL U18) and went 3-1-0 with 1 shutout in 4 starts. He’s now 7-6-1 on the season with a 3.03 GAA and .906 Sv%
• Ezekiel Kaebel is up to 71 points over 45 Games with the Dallas Stars 16U AAA program
• Carter Nash has a 31-10-0 record with 8 shutouts over 41 starts for the Honeybaked 15U AAA program, and a spectacular 1.84 GAA.

December may not have been the busiest month on the ice, but it set the stage for what’s coming next. Health is returning, the results are trending in the right direction, and a series of significant trades has reshaped the Oil Kings roster with one goal in mind. As 2026 begins, Edmonton looks fully committed to an all-in run as the season heads toward its most important stretch.