Beau Akey (82) takes part in the Edmonton Oilers 2026 development camp, Tuesday June 30, 2026. Photo by David Bloom Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia

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We continue our Cult of Hockey summer series of the Edmonton Oilers’ Top prospects entering 2026-27.

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Our panel of judges cast votes on thirty-seven organizational “prospects”. From those, we will pay closer attention to what we have deemed (by the afore-mentioned voting process) as the Top 25.

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Jim Matheson, David Staples, Kurt Leavins, Ira Cooper, Kevin McCurdy and Matthew Panchyshyn.

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Beau Akey

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2026 Ranking: 14

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2025 Ranking: 7

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Akey started off his junior career as an offensively skilled D-man. He was 5-11-16 in 61 GP a WHL rookie which is not bad at all. But 2022-23 was his breakout year in Barrie, registering 11-36-47 in 66 GP. In the playoffs for the Colts that season, Akey added 2-3-5 in 13 GP. That was enough for Oilers scouts. The club selected in in the Second Round, 56 overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Akey was subsequently inked to a three-year ELC, at $873,333. It kicked in last Fall. Unfortunately for club and player, injuries struck. Akey only played 14 games in 2023-24 (4-5-9 in 14 GP) due to shoulder surgery. His final year in Barrie he was 6-26-32 in 52 GP and was +10.

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But again, injuries got in the way. He was late starting and required a conditioning stint in Fort Wayne. Then, Akey took a puck in the face which did considerable damage and set him back even further. To his credit, Akey battled back to play 42 games for the Condors that season (2-8-10, +12). Those are what the numbers say.

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But if you listen to his AHL Coach, Colin Chaulk, the story begins to look up. Akey transitioned from primarily an offensive prospect to more of a two-way threat. He more than held his own defensively while the rest of the team struggled without the puck. And his 5v5 play became a bright spot.

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Chaulk would eventually described him as “smooth, poised and smart”.

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Dobber Prospects: A good pre-scanner, which makes him effective on retrievals, and his scanning with the puck on his stick is also a strength. When the play is in front of him, he sees all his options and picks the right one most of the time. His puck skills are also quite good. Defensively, he keeps a tight gap and focuses on protecting the slot with a consistently active stick, but his defensive processing speed is a bit inconsistent, and he can get caught puck-watching.

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Elite Prospects: With his precise and powerful footwork, he can shadow attackers and push them to the outside, pinch on opponents in the offensive zone before they can break out the puck, and absorb and box out attackers rushing to the slot. Some of his best work came off his ability to anticipate players on the rush and use his stick to poke pucks away, as well as while chasing puck carriers in his own end.

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Akey’s slippage in our rankings is almost entirely explained by injury. As a result, a lot will depend on what sort of Summer he had. Colin Chaulk sent Akey into the off-season with orders to work on his strength. Injuries robbed the player of several critical developmental opportunities along the way including strength conditioning…as Akey has (by necessity) spent a lot of time in rehabilitation.