Mike Babcock’s arrival will inevitably be judged by what he can get from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but some of the Edmonton Oilers who could benefit most from the coaching change are much further down the lineup.
Babcock made increasing Edmonton’s organizational depth one of the central themes of his introductory press conference. General manager Stan Bowman was even more direct, saying the Oilers were too dependent on a handful of players last season while others became marginalized by small roles and limited ice time.
“We’ve got to get more players in the game here,” Bowman said while discussing the philosophy behind the Oilers’ decision to hire Babcock.
That approach could be especially important for Colton Dach, Jason Dickinson, and Shakir Mukhamadullin. Dach is attempting to establish himself as more than a fourth-line energy player, Dickinson possesses the defensive profile Babcock has historically trusted, and Mukhamadullin enters Edmonton as a 24-year-old defenseman still trying to determine the extent of his NHL role.
If Babcock follows through on his stated desire to make every player important, those three could be among the biggest individual beneficiaries.
1. Dickinson Fits Babcock’s Two-Way Approach
Dickinson does not need Babcock to transform his game. He may benefit simply from having a coach whose stated priorities align closely with the player he already is.
Edmonton acquired Dickinson and Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2026 Trade Deadline because its bottom six needed greater defensive reliability. Dickinson immediately became the Oilers’ third-line center and handled many of the assignments Edmonton did not want to place on its offensive stars.
He recorded one goal and four points in 17 regular-season games after the trade while averaging 15:03. The production was modest, but offense was never the primary reason Edmonton targeted him.
Dickinson was regularly deployed in the defensive zone and on the penalty kill. His 2025-26 Oilers report card noted that Edmonton’s penalty kill improved substantially after the deadline, with Dickinson and Connor Murphy helping give the unit the dependable defensive options it had lacked earlier in the season.
The Oilers then demonstrated how highly they valued that role by signing Dickinson to a five-year, $20 million contract before he reached unrestricted free agency. The deal carries a $4 million average annual value and keeps him in Edmonton through 2030-31.
That investment makes more sense if Dickinson receives a meaningful role rather than simply filling 11 or 12 minutes between shifts for Edmonton’s stars.
Babcock has repeatedly emphasized structure, defensive responsibility, and players understanding exactly what is expected from them. Dickinson already built his NHL career around those qualities.
He can take defensive-zone faceoffs, kill penalties, and match against stronger opposing forwards. His ability to play centre or wing also gives Babcock flexibility depending on how Edmonton constructs the bottom six.
The biggest opportunity could come from Babcock’s desire to spread responsibility. Bowman acknowledged during Babcock’s introduction that several depth players became too disconnected from the game last season because their minutes were so low. Dickinson should not have that problem if Edmonton truly intends to build a more balanced lineup.
He is unlikely to become a major scorer, but a consistent 14-to-16-minute role featuring defensive-zone starts and penalty-killing work could make him one of the players Babcock relies on most outside the top six.
2. Mukhamadullin Could Earn Real Responsibility
Mukhamadullin enters a much-less-established situation.
Edmonton acquired the 24-year-old defenseman from the San Jose Sharks as the centerpiece of its return for Darnell Nurse on July 1. The Oilers then signed him to a two-year, $3.5 million contract carrying a $1.75 million average annual value.
Mukhamadullin played 50 games for San Jose last season and recorded five goals and 12 points. He has only 83 games of NHL experience, leaving Edmonton to determine whether he is primarily a third-pair defenseman or someone capable of eventually handling top-four minutes.
Bowman already identified several qualities that could help him earn a substantial opportunity. While discussing the Nurse trade and Edmonton’s defensive changes, Bowman highlighted Mukhamadullin’s 6-foot-4 frame, reach, shot and penalty killing. He also noted that the left-shot defenseman spent significant time on the right side last season, creating additional flexibility for Edmonton’s pairings. Those are useful tools for a Babcock-coached team.
Mukhamadullin does not need to replace Nurse directly. Edmonton added Ryan Shea in free agency and still has Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, Murphy, Ty Emberson, and Spencer Stastney competing for roles.
The reshaped blue line does, however, give Babcock an opportunity to establish a different hierarchy instead of automatically defaulting to the combinations Edmonton used last season.That matters for Mukhamadullin.
A young defenseman trying to establish himself can easily become trapped in a limited third-pair role in which mistakes reduce his minutes and a lack of minutes prevents him from gaining confidence. Babcock and Bowman have publicly argued against creating exactly that type of cycle with Edmonton’s supporting players.
Babcock said during his introductory availability that the Oilers need to create organizational depth by ensuring “everybody on this team has to be important.”
Mukhamadullin could test how committed he is to that philosophy.
The Oilers should allow Mukhamadullin to kill penalties, play meaningful five-on-five minutes, and occasionally move higher in the lineup rather than restricting him to sheltered deployment from the beginning.
His penalty-killing experience offers the clearest path. Mukhamadullin logged more than 70 shorthanded minutes for San Jose last season, and Bowman specifically identified that area as one of his strengths.
Edmonton’s penalty kill became a major problem last season, particularly during its first-round playoff loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Giving Mukhamadullin responsibility there would provide him with an immediate role even if his five-on-five position fluctuates.
Babcock does not have to hand him a top-four job. He needs to give him enough responsibility to prove whether he can eventually earn one.
3. Colton Dach Could Be Babcock’s Biggest Beneficiary
No Oiler has been more direct about the opportunity Babcock’s arrival could create than Colton Dach.
Dach signed a two-year, $2.4 million contract in July after making an immediate impression following his trade from Chicago. An injury limited him to eight regular-season games for Edmonton, but he recorded two goals and four points while averaging only 10:09 per game.
He also brought an element Edmonton badly needed. Dach finished the season with 219 hits in 61 games between Chicago and Edmonton. Despite playing only eight regular-season games after the trade, he recorded 30 hits with the Oilers and added another 23 in five playoff appearances.
His Oilers report card after the season argued that he provided the bottom six with a physical identity while showing enough offensive ability to become more than a traditional fourth-line hitter.
Babcock could give him the opportunity to prove it. Dach told NHL.com after signing his extension that he believes the new coach’s style should fit him well because of the work ethic and effort he tries to bring every night. He also made his objective clear: earn more responsibility. “I would like to have a bigger role,” Dach said in July.
That should be realistic.
Dach is 23 years old, 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds, giving Edmonton a young power forward at a $1.2 million cap hit. Those are exactly the types of inexpensive depth players the Oilers need to extract more value from while McDavid, Draisaitl, and the rest of the veteran core occupy significant portions of the salary cap.
A bigger role does not mean Babcock should immediately put Dach beside McDavid.
It could mean increasing his workload from approximately 10 minutes to 12 or 13, giving him opportunities higher in the lineup during injuries and allowing him to remain on the ice in situations where the previous coaching staff might have shortened the bench.
Dach also showed hints of offensive potential that justify further evaluation. His four points in eight games with the Oilers represented a strong start, and his size allows him to generate scoring chances differently from many of the Oilers’ skilled forwards. Dach is comfortable driving toward the crease, battling below the goal line and creating traffic instead of remaining on the perimeter.
Those traits could make him useful beside more skilled linemates.
His physicality also fits the type of competitive environment Babcock says he intends to establish. Effort alone will not guarantee Dach additional ice time, but a player whose greatest strengths are work rate, forechecking, and physical engagement should have a clear method of earning the coach’s trust.
That is why Dach may have more to gain from the coaching change than anyone else on Edmonton’s depth chart.
Babcock’s Depth Promise Will Be Tested Early
The stars will ultimately determine how far Edmonton goes. McDavid and Draisaitl remain the players most capable of changing games, and Babcock was hired partly because the organization believes he can demand even more from its elite core.
The coaching change cannot succeed only by squeezing additional minutes or defensive responsibility from Edmonton’s best players.
Bowman made that point clear when Babcock was introduced. He said last season became “far too tilted” toward a handful of players and argued Edmonton could not repeat a year in which supporting players were marginalized without meaningful roles.
The solution is not simply playing everyone equally. Babcock needs to identify jobs that allow the bottom half of the roster to affect games. Dickinson can handle difficult defensive assignments. Mukhamadullin can provide size, mobility, and penalty killing while developing into a larger role. Dach can bring physicality and potentially more offense if Edmonton gives him the minutes to show it.
There will be mistakes along the way, particularly with younger players such as Dach and Mukhamadullin. Bowman acknowledged that developing greater depth will not happen immediately and that some players may struggle when given responsibilities they have not previously handled.
Edmonton must resist abandoning the approach as soon as that happens. The Oilers hired Babcock to change more than the behavior of their stars. They want a team capable of trusting more than six or seven players when games become difficult.
Dach, Dickinson and Mukhamadullin provide three obvious opportunities to find out whether that plan can work.
If Babcock makes good on his promise to make every Oiler important, they could have more to gain from his arrival than anyone.
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