When Johnny Gaudreau was in college in Boston his major for three years was communications but there was hockey to be played and the late winger did it handsomely for 800 NHL games.

Nobody’s saying Owen Michaels, also a communications major at a college in Western Michigan, will ever be as good as Gaudreau. His play spoke volumes. But the high-end university centre Michaels is also putting his media training on hold to give the NHL a shot with the Edmonton Oilers.

It’s a tall task trying to make the Oilers as a centre in this win-now window with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as the best 1-2 in hockey, if they’re apart and not linemates, along with veteran two-way pivot Jason Dickinson signed to a five-year deal in the No. 3 hole.

But, Michaels, the former captain at Western Michigan, who chose the Oilers as a free-agent last spring, and another ex NCAA player/free-agent Quinn Hutson, who did the same and had 63 points in Bakersfield last year in his first full year of pro, are the best two prospect forwards in the Oilers sytem if AHLer Ike Howard makes the team.

The clock’s ticking for both Michaels and Hutson, because they’re already 24 and turning 25 in a few months. But, Michaels is a right-shot centre, which gives him a leg up on an Oilers team heavy on lefties.

And Michaels, a college teammate of Philadelphia Flyers forward Alex Bump and Anaheim’s Tim Washe had 62 points in his last 81 college games, so he’s got some offence to go with his responsible two-way game

The Detroit-born Michaels, who was never drafted, playing junior in the North American Hockey League with the Bismarck Bobcats for two seasons, and then in the United States Hockey League with the Lincoln Stars and Dubuque Fighting Saints before playing for Pat Ferschweiler at WMU.

He’s getting a late start as a pro, but he was around the Oilers for a month practising last spring, at least in an NHL dressing room. No games but watched the team from the press box.

Michaels has game, and could be the top centre in Bakersfield, if he doesn’t crack the Oilers.

When he sees the NHL is dependent on how fast he adapts to pro, starting in the AHL, and whether there are injuries here in the bottom six. He was at development camp with Toronto in 2025, before signing here, with a number of NHL teams circling.

Why sign here with McDavid and Draisaitl, and after the Oilers traded for Dickinson last spring and re-signed him this summer.

“I had some good conversations with Stan (GM Bowman) and other people (his Dubuque GM was Kalle Larsson, the new Oilers assistant GM),” said Michaels.

“The Oilers are in a win-now mode with McDavid and Draisaitl but if you can carve out a bit of a role, all you really want is a chance. This felt like a great opportunity.”

This will be Michaels first chance at playing pro hockey. He worked hard in the off-season and is now up to 197 lbs, and his main focus was to get bigger and stronger after he signed a two-year extension for $1.8-million this summer.

Bakersfield head coach Colin Chaulk said he doesn’t feel it will be an issue for Michaels to start his pro career at an older age.

“It’s fair to say he’s older but older players have spent more time in the gym to allow their bodies to become more of a young man than seeing the junior players…they’re more kids in a Pacific Division of the American League that’s generally heavier and older,” said Chaulk.

“What kind of pro player will he be? We’ll wait and see. But Owen is a responsible right-shot centerman who could play on both sides of the puck at the college level and he’s had success in terms of winning (NCAA title in 2025) and part of a good coaching staff.”

His coach at Western Michigan (Ferschweiler), who has worked in the NHL under current Chicago Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill is a big fan of Michaels.

“He’s a fierce competitor, a natural leader through his actions every day… he’s someone you can trust and feel comfortable having on the ice in any situation,” said Ferschweiler, in a story in College Hockey News.

But it’s baby steps turning pro, even at 24, although it has to be better than a crawl. Chaulk doesn’t know where he’ll play on his AHL team, but it could be top six, on a team with no right-shot centres just like in Edmonton.

“It all depends what happens with the big club (sending people down), but last year we had Josh Samanski, (Viljami) Marjala, James Hamblin and Sam Poulin,” said Chaulk, who lost Hamblin to a free-agent deal in Anaheim and Poulin wasn’t resigned.

“This year we’ll have the same first two, possibly, Michaels and Will Nicholl.”

While he may be in tough to crack the Oilers lineup to start the season with their depth at centre, and he will likely need some time in the AHL, but Chaulk feels that if he can work on the defensive side and structure of his game, he could see some time in the NHL, similar to the likes of what forward Josh Samanski did last year, and James Hamblin for a stretch during the 2023-24 season when he played 31 games.

‘Be a depth guy’

“Most young players value offence, scoring. That’s how you help your team and they’re not wrong but Samanski right away understood that he’d be a bottom six (NHL player to start his career there. This young man showed good maturity,” said Chaulk.

“Young players need time to find their way. Some do it right away, some do it later, some never get it and that’s why there’s only 700 NHL jobs and 160 guys on an NHL power play.

“Young players have to learn to check. Zach Hyman was a great example of that in his early days in Toronto. He worked and worked, got pucks back and his offence came. Owen believes he can be a depth guy and once you get in the top 12 (NHL) you never know what’ll happen.”

As a communications major, we’ll see what kind of pro hockey story Michaels writes.