Oilers top prospect Isaac Howard on a mission to prove he belongs in the NHL after dominant AHL performance

The Edmonton Oilers acquired former Hobey Baker Award winner Isaac Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning over the summer, and decided to sign him to a three year, entry level contract.

But the points have been a bit slow to come for him, and he was recently demoted to the American Hockey League affiliate Bakersfield Condors.

He's playing well with the Condors, as he now has six points in the three games he's played in since being sent down.

He's responding positively to the disappointing situation of being sent back down to the AHL, and if he can keep up his current performance, it likely won't be long before he gets a call up back to the Oilers at some point this year.

The Lightning took Howard with the 31st overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft while he was playing for the U.S. National Development Team, and he would later play college hockey at both the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Michigan State University.

He won the Hobey Baker Award while playing for Michigan State in 2025 as the NCAA's best player.

But he would never play a game in a Lightning sweater. Unable to come to an agreement with the Lightning, his rights were traded in July of 2025 to the Oilers for Sam O'Reilly, and then signed a three year, entry level contract with the Oilers.

So far in 17 games in the NHL with the Oilers, Howard has three points (2G, 1A).