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2024 Edmonton Oilers Prospects
#11 D Phil Kemp

By IRA COOPER, Special Correspondent for Cult of Hockey

Phil Kemp is entering his fifth professional season with the Oilers and has played a total of two minutes and two seconds in the NHL and exactly zero seconds in his natural position as a defenseman.

Congratulations to Phil Kemp on being called up to the Oilers (and earning an NHL salary for practicing with the team and watching numerous games) and making his NHL debut, which is not an everyday occurrence for a 7th round draft pick.

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Despite all the criticism that the Oilers’ previous management has had and continues to have to endure for its selection, there is one area in which they have been very successful in finding valuable players in the later rounds of the draft, particularly defensemen and tall and/or lanky defensemen.

From John Marino in Round 6 (2015) to Vincent Desharnais in Round 7 (in his third year of eligibility) (2016), Phil Kemp in Round 7 (2017), Michael Kesselring in Round 6 (2018), Maximus Wanner in Round 7 (2021) and even Nikita Yevseyev in Round 6 (2022).

All of the players listed above have begun an NHL career or shown real potential for an NHL career.

The author has been a fan of Phil Kemp since watching some of his games at Yale after the draft, but especially as an avid spectator of the Bakersfield Condors, where Kemp has developed his game year after year over the past four seasons (with a small stop in Sweden during the Covid season, where he played over 30 games for Vasby in the second-highest professional league alongside Condors teammate Raphael Lavoie).

After two seasons with the U.S. National Teams (U-17 and then U-18), followed by three seasons at Yale (where he was captain in his final season and played all 7 games for Team USA at the 2018 World Juniors), and most recently four seasons with the Bakersfield Condors, Phil Kemp is ready for the NHL like never before.

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Barring a potential prohibitive deficiency (which we’ll talk about), Kemp has the skills and work ethic to succeed as a right-shot third-line defenseman.

The question is: Will he get the opportunity to do so with the Edmonton Oilers?

The Oilers will enter the 2024/25 season without three defensemen who played important roles on the right side of their defense last season (Cody Ceci, Vincent Desharnais and Philip Broberg), and up to that point with only two external additions, Ty Emberson and Joshua Brown.

Having outpaced the three incumbents mentioned above (and Michael Kesselring before him), the door seems wide open for Kemp to fight for a spot on the NHL roster and lineup, yet his name is rarely, if ever, mentioned in the conversations.

The Oilers have re-signed Troy Stecher (for a fantastic 2 x $787,500 contract) and the general consensus is that Stecher and Emberson will battle for the 2 and 3 spots and Josh Brown will take the additional 7 and 4 spots.

Phil Kemp could overtake Josh Brown in the rankings if given a real chance, but the organization has essentially blocked that prospect because they have veterans ahead of him. The team is working to add more depth with experienced players in the fight for the Stanley Cup.

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That being said, it’s interesting to note that the Oilers just lost a very promising left defenseman because they blocked him on the left side with established veterans – as part of their annual attempt to use veterans in the fight for the Stanley Cup.

While Kemp’s game is nothing like Philip Broberg’s and his potential is significantly below Broberg’s (and the veterans blocking Kemp are of lower quality overall than those who blocked Broberg, with the exception of Evan Bouchard), I can see similarities in how this is likely to play out. Although Broberg was lost to an offer at the end of this season despite being an RFA, he will be a Group 6 unrestricted free agent unless Kemp plays 79 NHL games this season. With Max Wanner and Beau Akey providing pressure from below, I could see Kemp moving to another organization for the 2025-26 season.

Phil Kemp is a shutdown defender who isn’t known for having much offensive power, but he can defend. The Condors rely on Kemp to play all the important minutes on defense against the toughest opponents and in the best shorthanded unit.

Kemp isn’t overly physical/violent in the style of Adam Larsson, but he’s a tough defenseman who is as good a defender as you’ll find in the AHL. He has exceptional angles, is adept at getting in shots and blocking shots, and doesn’t make things fun for opponents along the boards or in front of the net, something most of the Oilers’ current defensemen aren’t known for.

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Kemp is also known as an exceptional teammate who doesn’t hesitate to drop the gloves to defend a teammate who has been wronged (four fights last season). Both coach Colin Chaulk and Jay Woodcroft before him have called Kemp a key leader on and off the ice, and after the retirement of Brad Malone, I would be surprised if Kemp isn’t named captain of the Condors this season.

Readers may notice that this article doesn’t even list the stats for Kemp, and that’s intentional. Kemp has a stealthy shot and is, in my opinion, an underrated passer and puck pusher, but offensive production is not a factor in Kemp’s prospects of making the NHL. Kemp’s potential inclusion on the Oilers roster and lineup is in the name of a solid and robust defense.

Kemp fits perfectly stylistically on the Oilers’ third pair – a tough and tenacious defender who can also help get the puck out of the zone. The reader is probably wondering why he’s never really in the conversation, and the answer is simple and obvious: one word: skating.

Skating has never been Kemp’s strong suit and has rightly been considered quite weak from his pre-draft days to now. Of course, Kemp has improved his skating year after year, but it is still far from a strength. There are real doubts as to whether he can move laterally, edge and turn enough to block attacks and defend in the zone against fast and mobile forwards at the NHL level. If he can do that, I think this player can be a strong 3rd defenseman. If not, then Phil Kemp is a bet.

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Expectations for 2024-25: There is little doubt that the Oilers will begin the season with a combination of Emberson, Stecher, Brown and a PTO covering the 2nd, 3rd and 7th positions if injuries pile up. I hope and expect Josh Brown to begin the season in the AHL alongside Phil Kemp and the organization will call up the player who deserves it based on merit and not just NHL experience.

The following may seem harsh, but despite hundreds of games of experience in the NHL, we know what Josh Brown is, a 7D-8D reserve player whose greatest skill may be punching faces. On the other hand, we don’t know what Kemp can be at the NHL level. We don’t know if he can skate well enough at the NHL level to utilize his fantastic defensive IQ and skills. At the same time, we also don’t know if he can’t. I’m confident that management and the coaching staff will give him a real opportunity to find out.

I’m rooting for Kemp to get the opportunity to showcase his skills at the NHL level with the Edmonton Oilers. This is likely his last chance in the Oilers organization.

Cult of the Hockey Prospect series

#12. Have the Oilers found a power forward who can keep up with skill?

#13, Oilers talent hopes to break worrying trend

#14. Will “Mr. Excitement” one day make a difference in the Oilers’ goal?

#15, young Russian defenseman on the Oilers radar, but is he on the rise or down?

#16-20: Late bloomers galore, but will they blossom for the Oilers?

#21-25: Maybe there is a lack of skill, but a lack of aggressiveness

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