The Unconventional Path
Philp becomes the 15th Golden Bears player to skate at the NHL level, and the 26 year-old joins his older brother, Luke, as two of those Alberta players who made the NHL. While he was playing on Edmonton's fourth line tonight alongside Drake Caggiula and longtime NHL veteran Corey Perry, Philp's speed and smarts were on display as he was good in his own zone while generating chances in the offensive zone. In short, he looked like the same Noah Philp we had seen with the Golden Bears over 36 Canada West games.
The Oilers recognized Philp's solid play tonight by awarding him with the "championship belt" for being the player of the game, and it looks like he may stick around the Alberta capital for a while. Both players and coaches liked his effort tonight as he and his linemates were effective throughout the game every time they went over the boards. This is quite the turnaround for a player who, in June of last year, told the team, "I'm at a time in my life where I want to focus on things outside the realm of hockey."
Philp has always been a good player, but it's true that he seems to need to have the right focus to be an effective player. After being traded from a brutal Kootenay Ice team in September 2017 to Seattle for two fifth-round draft picks, Philp hit his stride with the Thunderbirds as he recorded 40 goals and 85 assists in 127 games on the west coast. Whatever changed in Seattle seemed to light a fire under Philp, but perhaps it was the change of scenery and an infusion of talent that helped Philp reach new heights.
In 2017-18 while in Seattle, he played alongside other eventual Canada West talent in Nolan Volcan, Reece Harsch, Jake Lee, Jaxan Kaluski, Liam Hughes, and Matt Berlin. All of Philp, Volcan, and Berlin would end up on the Golden Bears together. In 2018-19, the likes of Cole Schwebius, Roddy Ross, Sean Richards, and Jarret Tyszka played alongside Philp with all of them heading to Canada West schools after their Seattle days. Needless to say, Philp was surrounded by talent.
His Alberta days saw him torch the competition as the Alberta Golden Bears were a force. They would end up tied for first-place in 2019-20 with the Huskies with a 23-5-0, scoring 132 goals over their 28-game schedule. The Bears placed five players in the top-ten in conference scoring, and Philp was one of them, tying for sixth-overall with 12 goals and 15 assists. Alberta, though, would fall to UBC in the semifinal as the Thunderbirds pitched the three-game upset behind the goaltending of Rylan Toth. With unfinished business, the Golden Bears looked to the following season.
COVID would derail the 2020-21 season, but the Golden Bears would return in 2021-22. Philp would eventually skate in eight games after taking a few months for himself for person reasons, and he simply continued his incredible pace as he scored eight goals and three assists. Head coach Ian Herbers said to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Sun of his commitment, "He's only played a year and-a-half with us because one year we just practised. And his game elevated night and day this season. The drive, the character he has. First guy on for practices, last guy off. There was a motivation to take the next step and it carried through to his game."
Despite finishing runner-up to the UQTR Patriotes at Nationals in 2022, Philp had three goals and one assist in Alberta's three games at the U Cup Championship. With his three goals in four Canada West playoff games, he fell one goal short of a goal-per-game pace. The only game where he didn't light the lamp was against UBC in Game One of the Canada West Championship, but he did have an assist as he scored in every game he played in that season. Not bad at all for a guy who logged 25 points in just 15 games!
After a 19-goal, 18-assist AHL season in 2022-23 after signing a one-year deal with the Bakersfield Condors, it seemed like Philp was destined to skate for the Oilers at some point. However, June 14, Philp made a decision that shocked a number of people, releasing a statement that included the lines, "I'm at a time in my life where I want to focus on things outside the realm of hockey. I'm doing well and wish all the best to the players, coaches and staff in Bakersfield and in Edmonton."
Taking some personal time away from the game seems to work for Philp because the fifteen months he spent retired seemed to put him back in the right mindset for this season after signing a one-year, two-way deal with Edmonton.
"I just had a gut feeling to step away from hockey for a little while," he told reporters in September, "and I didn't know how long that would be. I did that and I went and saw different parts of the world, did some travelling, and then came home and sort of decided it was ready to get back into it. It feels fresh to me and it feels really great to be back."
Philp had a great training camp, and it was thought that he would be named to the Oilers' opening night roster. With veteran players who couldn't be waived, however, Philp was sent down to Bakersfield to start the season. He'd have a strong start there with two goals and a helper in six games before being recalled for tonight's game. And it seems the head coach had a simple message for Philp's NHL debut tonight after being recalled after the Connor McDavid injury.
"Pick up where he left off," Knoblauch told Philp. "At Training Camp, he was outstanding in the exhibition games that he played. That's why he got the recall; just continue where he left off."
With his debut tonight, he joins 14 other Golden Bears who have skated for a team in the NHL. Those players are as follows:
- Dave MacKay (CHI) - 3 goals, 0 assists in 27 games
- Bryon Baltimore (EDM) - no points in 2 games
- Kevin Primeau (VAN) - no points in 2 games
- Dave Hindmarch (CGY) - 21 goals, 17 assists in 99 games
- Don Spring (WPG) - 1 goal, 54 assists in 259 games
- Randy Gregg (EDM/VAN) - 41 goals, 152 assists in 474 games
- Wade Campbell (WPG/BOS) - 9 goals, 27 assists in 213 games
- Colin Chisholm (MNS) - no points in 1 game
- Brent Severyn (6 TEAMS) - 10 goals, 30 assists in 328 games
- Ian Herbers (3 TEAMS) - 0 goals, 5 assists in 65 games
- Cory Cross (6 TEAMS) - 34 goals, 97 assists in 659 games
- Derek Ryan (3 TEAMS) - 81 goals, 122 assist in 580 games
- Zach Sawchenko (SJS) - 1-2-1, 3.35 GAA, .901 sv% in 7 games
- Luke Philp (CHI) - 0 goals, 1 assist in 3 games
- Noah Philp (EDM) - 0 goals, 1 assist in 1 game NOTE: italicized players are still active on depth charts
Make no mistake that there are other programs who have sent players to the NHL as well, but it's pretty clear that the Golden Bears are the class of Canada West when it comes to having players reach the pinnacle of the sport. For Noah Philp, his journey has been anything but a straight line, but playing in a number of different leagues and through a pile of circumstances has made him a better player. Being that he's older, he's had a chance to work on his 200-foot game more than a recent draft pick would, and he's evolved into a player who can contribute at the NHL level.
"He's just inching closer and closer to making a career out of this," Leon Draisaitl told reporters. "I'm very impressed with the way he handles himself and the way he plays the game. I think he's got a bright future ahead."
That's pretty high praise coming from an NHL Art Ross, Hart, and Ted Lindsay Trophy winner, and it's evidence that U SPORTS hockey players can reach their dreams of playing in the NHL even if they aren't drafted. Philp is proof that learning to play the game at both ends of the ice while physically maturing in university hockey can lead to big things. And if Philp continues to play like he did tonight against Nashville, the Oilers are going to have a hard time sending him back to Bakersfield this season.
Philp might want to see if he can move back into the place he stayed while with the Golden Bears because it looks like he'll be in Edmonton for the foreseeable future!
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
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