The Edmonton Oilers' annual development camp came with a twist this year: three women's hockey players, all with University of Minnesota ties, skated alongside the club's usual pool of NHL prospects.
The trio included former Gophers captain Abbey Murphy, current Minnesota player Chloe Primerano and Minnesota-Duluth junior forward Caitlin Kraemer. It marked the first time Edmonton has brought women's hockey players into the same camp as its NHL prospects.
The idea came from Oilers general manager Stan Bowman, who was struck by the women's tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, where he was serving as an assistant general manager for the U.S. men's Olympic team.
Bowman's thinking was twofold: give his own Edmonton prospects, including the club's picks from the 2026 NHL Draft, a chance to share the ice with elite women's players, and give those players a taste of NHL-caliber resources and coaching they could carry back to their college or pro teams.
For the Gophers program, it's another sign of how far the pipeline stretches. Murphy captained Minnesota before turning pro, Primerano is still lacing up in maroon and gold, and Kraemer represents the in-state rival up in Duluth — three different stops on the Minnesota women's hockey map, all landing in the same NHL rink this week.
