Isaac Howard bet on himself by forcing a trade to the Edmonton Oilers, but it comes with a catch.

The Tampa Bay Lightning first-rounder may have landed a dream job on Connor McDavid’s or Leon Draisaitl’s wing next season with the Oilers. But if Howard, who won the Hobey Baker Award as the top men’s college hockey player, didn’t already have a bullseye on his back, he certainly does now. 

Chances are, like Rutger McGroarty and Cutter Gauthier, he’s probably OK with that. 

When you’re a young, elite hockey player, the world can be your oyster. You have the power of top-level performance to build your brand. You have people who’ve scouted you from an early age, telling you how great you are. And more often than not, you wind up believing in the hype about yourself.

Now, some elite young players wind up doing what most young players do – they accept hockey’s draft system, go wherever they’re told to go and build a career from there. 

But over the years, there have been some top youngsters who defied the system and negotiated their way to a team and a town where they felt they were a better fit than the club that drafted them.

Of course, some famous examples in modern history are Eric Lindros, who refused to play in Quebec City, orchestrating a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers. More recently, star defenseman Adam Fox first told the Calgary Flames he wouldn’t sign with them after they drafted him. After the Flames dealt him to the Carolina Hurricanes, Fox didn’t sign there, either. Before his draft rights expired, the Hurricanes moved him to where he wanted to be, the New York Rangers, where he’s played ever since.

In the past couple of years, top forward prospects Gauthier and McGroarty leveraged their way out of Philadelphia and Winnipeg, respectively. Gauthier forced a trade to the Anaheim Ducks, while McGroarty got moved to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

With all that in mind, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that another young up-and-comer has forced his way away from the team that drafted him. Howard didn’t come to terms with the Lightning, which selected him 31st overall pick in 2022. The Lightning traded him to the Oilers in exchange for OHL prospect Sam O’Reilly.

In his introductory press availability, Howard said the usual boilerplate things about being happy with his new team. But make no mistake – he will now face scrutiny as he tries to make the jump from the NCAA to the NHL without needing to play in the AHL. Like it or not, when you use the system to your advantage in a way most players do not, the spotlight on you will be prolonged and intense. 

So far in their careers, McGroarty and Gauthier haven’t exactly set the league on fire. McGroarty spent most of his first professional season in the AHL, posting 14 goals and 39 points in 60 games this past season. In a brief stint with the NHL’s Penguins, McGroarty generated only one goal and three points in eight games. His adaptation to hockey’s top league will still take some time, but he’s got a promising future.

Gauthier has been more successful thus far, playing a full 82 games with the Ducks in his initial NHL season and generating 20 goals and 44 points. Gauthier has had more opportunity than some of his peers, but he’s taken some of the heat off himself by being so productive as a rookie.

Now, the same spotlight will hang hard on Howard. 

The belief in Edmonton is that the 21-year-old is NHL-ready and will be in the lineup when the 2025-26 season begins. Playing alongside McDavid and Draisaitl will no doubt help Howard’s acclimation to the NHL, but playing on a team that wants a Stanley Cup championship means there’s little room for error.

It may not be fair in that regard, but by orchestrating a trade to a place he wants to play, Howard has opened himself up for criticism, not only from Lightning fans who may feel cheated but from hockey gatekeepers who always bristle when a young player dictates where they want to play.

If Howard can thrive as an Oiler, Edmonton management will be more than happy to make him a cornerstone part of the organization. While Howard will likely face a lifetime of jeering from Tampa fans – the same way McGroarty and Gauthier will always hear it from Jets and Flyers fans, respectively – this won’t be the last time we see a player break up the hockey food chain and make it clear they’re not going to be swayed when it comes to playing where they want to play.

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