Isaac
Howard
L · EDM · Limited · Very poor
- PAL
- 5
- WAR
- -0.4
- Value
- 13
- PTS
- 5
2025-26№ 560 / 615
Isaac Howard (Edmonton Oilers) stats and profile: offensive production, ice time, advanced stats, WAR and PAL rating.
Isaac Howard
#53LPlays: Left wing · 0% of faceoffs
Edmonton Oilers
HEIGHT : 178 cm · WEIGHT : 84 kg · SHOOTS : L
Born : March 29, 2004 · Hudson, United States
Drafted : 2022 · TBL · round 1, pick #31
Contract : $950,000 · 2025-26 → 2027-28 · Entry-Level Contract · RFA · Signing bonus $95,000
NHL record
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Edmonton Oilers | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025-26 | Edmonton Oilers | 29 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
| NHL totals | 42 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 14 | |
Isaac Howard: our analysis
2025-26 season: 29 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 PTS, -6 +/-, 10:19 TOI. WAR -0.4 (560th of 615) · PAL 5, very poor.
In 2025-26, Isaac Howard, 22, posts a PAL Rating of 5 out of 100 (very poor), and his WAR of -0.4 ranks 560th among 615 regulars, in the bottom quarter.
On the other hand, discipline (8, among the weakest in the league) and possession (11, among the weakest in the league) hold him back.
Breaking down his WAR (goals above average), no component is positive; the costliest: finishing (-1.9).
Contract-wise, his Value score of 13 (very poor return) weighs his output against what he costs: 50 is what that salary should buy.
Isaac Howard's story
Picked 31st overall in 2022, Isaac Howard rose through Minnesota's development system and drew national attention with an appearance at the 2022 BioSteel All-American Game. Ahead of the draft the NHL Central Scouting listed him among the top North American skaters, which led to Tampa Bay selecting him late in the first round.
Howard broke into college hockey with Minnesota Duluth in 2022–23, posting six goals and 11 assists across 35 games as a freshman. He transferred to Michigan State for 2023–24, where his point production increased to eight goals and 28 assists in 36 games. His junior year, 2024–25, produced a career-high scoring season: 26 goals and 26 assists in 37 contests.
That 2024–25 campaign brought both team and individual milestones. In Big Ten play he led the conference with 16 goals and 17 assists in 24 games, earned Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Scoring Champion honours, and collected tournament hardware after scoring three goals and two assists in two games — including the double-overtime winner that secured Michigan State a second straight Big Ten tournament title. He was named to the conference all-tournament team, earned Tournament MVP, and capped the season by winning the Hobey Baker Award.
Howard's pro path shifted in July 2025 when his NHL rights were traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Sam O'Reilly; he then signed a three-year entry-level contract beginning in 2025–26. He recorded his first NHL goal on October 21 in a 3–2 overtime win over the Ottawa Senators.
On the international stage Howard has collected medals and scoring roles at multiple levels: a silver at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, participation at the 2021 U18s and a silver at the 2022 U18s where he finished as the United States' leading scorer, and a team-leading seven goals en route to gold at the 2024 World Junior Championships. He made his senior national-team debut at the 2025 World Championship, contributing one assist in four games to a gold-medal performance, and was added to the U.S. roster for the 2026 tournament. His track record shows a forward who both finishes and creates, able to produce high goal totals and significant assist numbers in big moments.
Facts drawn from Wikipédia, told in our own words.
Advanced stats
- TOI/GP
- 8:53
- PP TOI/GP
- 1:10
- SH TOI/GP
- 0:00
- Pts/GP
- 0.23
- EV points
- 2
- Hits
- 4
- Blocks
- 3
- Takeaways
- 1
- Corsi % (SAT)
- 45.6 %
- Off. zone starts
- 43.8 %
Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)
2026-27 projection
Projected points
10between 3 and 18 (80% range)
- Goals
- 3
- Assists
- 6
- Games
- 45
So far: 3 pts in 13 games. The team has played 18 of 84 games. Projected pace: 0.21 pts per game (last season: 0.17).
The projection follows last season's pace. Tested on 2,265 player seasons (2022-23 to 2025-26): average miss of 9 points over 82 games; for players at 0.9 points per game and up, it ran 5 points high on average.
This is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes; one player in five finishes outside the range.
Player ratings, 2025-26
All ratings →Fourteen ratings from 0 to 100 drawn from data, never by hand: 75 = established NHL player, 95+ = elite.
Injured reserve· Knee· expected back November 17
OV · OverallConfidence 23 %
66
Depth
- SK
- Skating
- 82
- Confidence 40 %
- ST
- Strength
- 64
- Confidence 27 %
- EN
- Endurance
- 62
- Confidence 50 %
- DU
- Durability
- 58
- Confidence 40 %
- CK
- Checking
- 67
- Confidence 27 %
- FG
- Fighting
- 79
- Confidence 15 %
- DI
- Discipline
- 62
- Confidence 27 %
- FO
- Faceoffs
- —
- PA
- Passing
- 70
- Confidence 23 %
- SC
- Scoring
- 70
- Confidence 23 %
- DF
- Defense
- 70
- Confidence 20 %
- PS
- Penalty shot
- 67
- Confidence 8 %
- EX
- Experience
- 34
- Confidence 100 %
Why these ratings?Hide details
SK — Skating82
- Top speed (35 %)36.5 · 82
- Bursts > 20 mph /60 (30 %)6.706 · 80
- Distance /60 (20 %)16.1 · 72
- Speed consistency (15 %)36.2 · 86
ST — Strength64
- Contact absorbed /60 (50 %)3.766 · 72
- Body mass (50 %)-1.139 · 64
EN — Endurance62
- Ice time per game (45 %)13.1 · 64
- Total ice time (20 %)297 · 35
- Shift length (15 %)46.3 · 76
- Lowest recent ice time per game (15 %)12 · 65
- Special-teams time per game (5 %)1.56 · 65
DU — Durability58
- Share of games played (100 %)0.672 · 58
CK — Checking67
- Hits /60 (70 %)3.809 · 72
- Season volume (10 %)2.079 · 45
FG — Fighting79
- Fights per 82 games (100 %)0.922 · 79
DI — Discipline62
- Net penalty value /60 (50 %)-0.021 · 62
- Penalties taken /60 (30 %)0.864 · 66
- Penalties drawn /60 (20 %)0.737 · 73
PA — Passing70
- Primary assists /60 (40 %)0.643 · 72
- Secondary assists /60 (20 %)0.409 · 70
- Offensive creation (RAPM) (20 %)0.039 · 69
- Power-play points /60 (10 %)4.163 · 71
SC — Scoring70
- Goals /60 (25 %)0.796 · 66
- Individual xG /60 (20 %)0.865 · 75
- Finishing (goals − xG per shot) (20 %)-0.128 · 70
- High-danger chances /60 (15 %)1.362 · 76
- xG per shot (10 %)0.079 · 72
- Shot attempts /60 (10 %)14.9 · 78
DF — Defense70
- RAPM defense /60 (35 %)-0.008 · 73
- Relative xG against (20 %)0.081 · 69
- On-ice xG against /60 (15 %)2.613 · 75
- Takeaways − giveaways /60 (10 %)-2.05 · 63
- Shot attempts against /60 (5 %)57.9 · 78
- Blocked shots /60 (5 %)2.034 · 70
PS — Penalty shot67
- Shootouts (60 %)32 · 65
- Penalty shots (40 %)26.7 · 76
EX — Experience34
- Career regular-season games (65 %)48
- Career playoff games (25 %)0
- NHL seasons (10 %)24
OV — Overall66
- SC · Scoring (28 %)70
- PA · Passing (22 %)70
- DF · Defense (18 %)70
- SK · Skating (12 %)82
- EN · Endurance (8 %)62
- DI · Discipline (5 %)62
- ST · Strength (4 %)64
- CK · Checking (3 %)67
The bars show confidence (sample size), not player quality. — : not enough data, not a zero. Engine version 1.0.
WAR and PAL ratings, 2025-26
How we rate →PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against players at the same position (50 = average player), starting from the player's strength, offensive or defensive. Value Rating compares that performance with what the player costs: 50 means paid what the play is worth.
WAR
-0.4
wins above replacement
560 of 615
PAL Rating
5/ 100
Performance · Very poor
454 of 476 at the position
Value Rating
13/ 100
Very poor return
0.95 M$ · expected PAL 36
ProfileLimitedBelow average at both ends
- Offense
- 18
- Defense
- 19
See full detailsHide details
- Offense
- 22
- Creation
- 43
- Shooting
- 26
- Possession
- 11
- Defense
- 28
- Discipline
- 8
- Power play
- 17
- Penalty kill
- 28
From 0 to 100; 50 is the average player at the same position, adjusted for ice time.
Hockey IQ, 2025-26
Rankings and method →The quality of the player's decisions with and against the puck at 5-on-5, against regulars at the same position (50 = average). PAL measures output; IQ measures how the player plays.
Overall IQ
9/ 100
Low
better than 9% of forwards, offense and defense combined
Offensive IQ
26/ 100
Below average
passing, shots, puck
Defensive IQ
11/ 100
Low
takeaways, discipline, own zone
Overall IQ isn't an average of the two scores: it's the player's rank with offense and defense combined, 384 of 424 forwards.
See full detailsHide details
Offense
- Playmaking passes
- 37
- Shot selection
- 25
- Penalties drawn
- 46
- Puck management
- 57
Defense
- Takeaways
- 13
- Discipline
- 17
- Safe zone exits
- 35
Percentiles: 80 means better than 80% of regulars at the same position. Play without the puck (positioning, coverage) isn't measured: the NHL doesn't publish that data.
WAR, 2025-26
How it's calculated →Wins added to the team, compared with a replacement-level player called up from the AHL.
-0.4
wins above replacement
-0.8 to -0.0 — 90% interval
560 of 615 forwards
-2.1 goals above replacement
Full leaderboard →See full detailsHide details
- EV offense
- -0.4
- EV defense
- -0.1
- Power play
- -0.0
- Penalty kill
- 0.0
- Shooting
- -1.9
- Penalties
- -0.5
- Average → replacement
- +0.8
In goals.
Player tracking (NHL EDGE)
League EDGE leaderboards →Speed, shot power, distance covered, time by zone: measured by chips in the puck and shoulder pads. 90th percentile = better than 90% of players.
- Hardest shot
- 142.5 km/h86th percentileleague avg. 130.1 km/h
- Top skating speed
- 37.6 km/h97th percentileleague avg. 35.2 km/h
- Bursts over 20 mph, season
- 3582nd percentileleague avg. 21
- Offensive zone time
- 42.3 %51st percentileleague avg. 43.1 %
See full detailsHide details
- Total distance, season
- 33.1 km28th percentileleague avg. 52.2 km
- Distance, single-game high
- 3.19 km12th percentileleague avg. 4.52 km
- Offensive zone at 5v5
- 41.3 %55th percentileleague avg. 42.4 %
- Neutral zone time
- 17.3 %18th percentileleague avg. 16.8 %
- Defensive zone time
- 40.4 %42nd percentileleague avg. 40.1 %
Shooting
| Shots on goal | Goals | Shooting % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 1232nd percentile | 139th percentile | 8.3 %20th percentile |
| High danger | 08th percentile | 034th percentile | 0.0 %0th percentile |
| Mid range | 867th percentile | 177th percentile | 12.5 %53rd percentile |
| Long range | 153rd percentile | 092nd percentile | 0.0 %87th percentile |
Shots on goal by zone
2026-2027 regular season. Measured by puck and player tracking chips; the percentile ranks the player within the league.
Game log, 2026-27
NYI
CGY
DET
CAR
MIN
UTA
LAK
SJS
ANA
SEA
VANIsaac Howard: frequently asked questions
How many goals does Isaac Howard have in 2026-27?
Isaac Howard has 1 goal and 3 points (2 assists) in 13 games in 2026-27.
How old is Isaac Howard?
Isaac Howard is 22 years old: he was born on March 30, 2004.
How tall is Isaac Howard, and how much does he weigh?
Isaac Howard is 5'10" (178 cm) and weighs 185 lb (84 kg).
Where is Isaac Howard from?
United States: Isaac Howard was born in Hudson, Wisconsin, United States.
What team does Isaac Howard play for?
Isaac Howard plays for the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL, at L, wearing number 53.
Is Isaac Howard injured?
Yes: Isaac Howard is on injured reserve (knee). He is expected back around November 17.
How good is Isaac Howard?
Isaac Howard produced -0.4 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2025-26, 560th of 615 players at his position in the NHL. His PAL rating is 5 out of 100: very poor for his position.
How much does Isaac Howard make?
Isaac Howard earns $950K for the 2025-26 season. His Value Rating is 13 out of 100 (very poor return): it measures the on-field return for that salary, compared with players at his position.
When does Isaac Howard's contract end?
Isaac Howard's contract runs through the 2027-28 season; he will then be a restricted free agent.
Is Isaac Howard overpaid?
Yes, his output falls short of what his salary should buy. His Value rating is 13 out of 100 (very poor return), where 50 is the output expected for his salary, compared with players at his position.
Is Isaac Howard a top-10 player at his position?
No: by WAR, he ranks 560th of 615 players at his position in the NHL in 2025-26. Our comparison tool puts him side by side with any other player.
How has Isaac Howard played lately?
Over his last 10 games, Isaac Howard has 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist).
What are Isaac Howard's career stats?
Over his NHL career, Isaac Howard has 42 games, 3 goals, 5 assists and 8 points. His best season: 2025-26, with 5 points in 29 games.
Where was Isaac Howard drafted?
Isaac Howard was drafted 31st overall (round 1) by Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022.
Is Isaac Howard better at home or on the road?
On the road: in 2026-27, he averages 0.14 points per game at home (1 in 7 games) and 0.33 on the road (2 in 6 games).
How does Isaac Howard perform in the playoffs?
Isaac Howard has not played in the NHL playoffs yet.
Which player is most similar to Isaac Howard?
Alexander Holtz: he is the player at his position whose PAL profile (the 0-to-100 dimensions) is closest to his in 2025-26.
Alexander Holtz's page →Is Isaac Howard a good fantasy pick?
Probably not, except in deep leagues: our projection has him at 10 points in 2026-27, or 0.22 points per game.
What is Isaac Howard's nationality?
Isaac Howard is American. Internationally: United States: silver medal at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics; 2021 U18 World Championship (1 goal, 3 assists) and silver at the 2022 U18 World Championship (6 goals, 5 assists); 2024 World Junior Championship: gold (team-leading 7 goals, 2 assists); 2025 World Championship: gold (1 assist in 4 games).
What awards has Isaac Howard won?
Hobey Baker Award (2024–25) ; Big Ten Player of the Year — 2024–25 ; Big Ten Scoring Champion — 2024–25 ; Big Ten All-Tournament Team — 2025 tournament ; Big Ten Tournament MVP — 2025.
How many championships has Isaac Howard won?
3: 2025 Big Ten Tournament championship with Michigan State (conference title); 2024 World Junior Championship — gold medal with the United States; 2025 World Championship — gold medal with the United States.
Where did Isaac Howard play before turning pro?
University of Minnesota Duluth (Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs), 2022–23 season; Michigan State Spartans, 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons.
How many points is Isaac Howard projected to score in 2026-27?
Our projection has him at 10 points in 45 games in 2026-27 (3 to 18 points, 80% interval), based on his recent seasons, age and role.
See also: his Edmonton Oilers teammates
Full roster →
NHL.com ↗ · Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)