PENTICTON, British Columbia -- It wasn't the first time Matt Savoie pulled on an Edmonton Oilers jersey when he debuted with his favorite childhood team at the Young Stars Classic on Friday, but the 20-year-old admitted it's probably the sweetest.
To date, anyway.
"It's pretty special," Savoie said. "I got to do it for the first time right before the game. I kind of got to look at it and think how special it was and think what the kid in me would be thinking right now. It's just pretty cool.
"Right before you put it on you just take a second to look at the logo and turn it around and throw it over your shoulders. It's a pretty good feeling. It was a pretty special feeling for sure."
Savoie grew up a fan of the team in Edmonton's neighboring suburb community of St. Albert, and joined the organization when he was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for forwards Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio on July 5.
It's given Savoie a chance to live out a lifelong fantasy.
"It was definitely a dream of mine since I was young just to play in the NHL, but furthermore play for the hometown team," he said. "It's pretty cool just to get that first taste."
The goal is to tug on that Edmonton sweater again, and often.
Savoie (5-foot-9, 179 pounds) said he's envisioned what it might be like to put on an Oilers jersey game-in, game-out, but is also aware of the danger of getting lost in that thought.
"I mean, personally I try to stay as present as possible and try to live in the moment and that's right now," said Savoie, who was selected by the Sabres with the No. 9 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. "When that moment comes, hopefully it's soon, it's going to be a dream come true and I'm going to take it all in."
There's still work to be done, however, for Savoie to reach that mark, with the possibility that he could begin the season with Bakersfield in the American Hockey League.
"Sense, skill, compete... he's a skilled player," said Rick Pracey, Edmonton's director of amateur scouting. "He can make plays. I like his offensive acumen. He's just basically a good hockey player.
"And then already having two years of development and obviously he played pro and at the National level and his junior club's winning... his timeline is very helpful. He's closer to being an entry-level pro. We'll see how the progress grows, but we think he's the type of player that can challenge from within."
Savoie's development path to date has been a winding one. Including his appearance at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, where he served as an alternate captain for Canada, he played for five teams during the 2023-24 season.
He played one game for the Sabres, making his NHL debut on Nov. 10, 2023, and was sent to Rochester of the AHL, where he scored five points (two goals, three assists) in six games. Savoie then returned to Wenatchee of the Western Hockey League, where he had 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 11 games before being traded to Moose Jaw.
There, he had 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists) in 23 regular-season games and 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 19 playoff games, helping Moose Jaw win its first WHL championship and a berth in the 2024 Memorial Cup.
"As a player it's a lot," Savoie said. "As a person it's a lot. Moving around so much, it takes a little bit of a toll on you. I take the experiences as positives and went into each of them with a learning mindset and I think I took a lot away from all those coaches I played for and teammates I played with. I just took it as a developmental year and had a lot of fun with it."
He's looking for a more permanent home in 2024-25.
Ideally, it would be close to home, too.
"That would mean the world to me," said Savoie, whose brother Carter Savoie was drafted by Edmonton in the fourth round (No. 100) in the 2020 NHL Draft and spent parts of three seasons in the Oilers organization but did not play an NHL game.
"It's up to me to go and do it and go show I'm capable of being there and contributing there. I'm just looking to continue to get my legs under me, continue to get back to how I can play and go show them what I can do."
