Edmonton Oilers shake up their roster with key moves just days before season debut

According to Puckpedia, the Edmonton Oilers have made some roster moves as they've put the following players on waivers: veteran defensemen Ben Gleason and Phil Kemp, forward Lane Pederson, and goaltender Colin Delia. Via Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic, forward James Hamblin has been reassigned to the AHL and Beau Akey to Barrie of the OHL.

Waiving Ben Gleason was moderately surprising. At 26, Gleason is a six-year pro hockey veteran who had a decent chance of making it as an NHL regular. Ben Gleason had a pretty decent preseason, where he scored against Vancouver and received kudos from head coach Kris Knoblauch. That said, it's a pretty deep left side for the Oilers, where guys like Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm, and Brett Kulak hold down some prominent spots. The right side saw Ty Emberson and Troy Stecher just slightly outplay Gleason which makes it tough to fit Gleason in. While Phil Kemp was sound defensively during the preseason, he also had a few notable lapses in his own zone, something that doesn't sit well for a player whose primary strength is defensive reliability. Ultimately, those errors may have tipped the scales against him.

Lane Pederson and James Hamblin had their moments but were simply outperformed by their fellow AHLers Noah Philp, Drake Caggiula, and Raphael Lavoie. The battle for an NHL spot was high and that trio proved to be more ready when it came to getting an opportunity at the NHL level. Let's be real, there's just so much room on the roster, and with the battle for a potential 13th forward opening, Pederson and Hamblin were left on the outside looking in.

Travis Dermott, on a PTO with the Oilers, has also has looked very good and received substantial amount of ice time of late. He brings smooth skating and experience in the NHL, so maybe has an edge on Gleason, but he too faces competition from established left-side defenders. Josh Brown was quiet in his outing against Vancouver but remains a factor in the seventh spot because of his size and physicality. His toughness against Dermott's overall skill set is what will have to be weighed as the Oilers close out their roster decisions.

This suggests that the competition amongst players for the remaining NHL spots within the Oilers is steep. Gleason, Kemp, Pederson, and Hamblin have shown their capabilities but have been outshone by some contenders who are just a little better equipped to make the next step at this time. As the team aims to finalize its lineup for the regular season, every little detail will count, with some tough decisions left to be made regarding defensive depth and forward options.