Oilers First-Round Pick Nets First OHL Hat Trick In Dominant London Victory

Last night, Edmonton Oilers prospect Sam O’Reilly recorded the first hat trick of his OHL career in a dominant 9-1 London win over the Owen Sound Attack.

The Oilers selected O’Reilly with the last pick in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft. So far this year, the Toronto native has 21 goals and 35 assists in 54 games played.

While anything can happen in junior hockey, this was a game the Knights were expected to win. It was not as obvious that they would win in such a dominant fashion.

The team scored three goals in each period, and ended the night with just three players on their roster who didn’t record at least one point.

O’Reilly’s first goal came nearly six minutes into the second period on a lovely give and go between him and Jesse Nurmi.

He followed up with his second goal of the night just seven minutes later. That particular play saw Sam Dickinson create a turnover that bounced onto O’Reilly’s stick in front. He made no mistake quickly depositing the puck into the back of the net.

His third goal came early in the third period once again with the aid of Jesse Nurmi who finished the night with a pair of assists. Nurmi charged down the wall before firing a pass to O’Reilly which was tipped into the back of the goal sealing the young forward’s hat trick.

O’Reilly is in the middle of his second full season with London. The Edmonton Prospect scored 56 points in 68 games as a rookie, and is on pace to set a new personal high of 69 points this season.

Not only that, but O’Reilly is a solid playoff performer. He scored five goals and added seven assists during the Knights’ championship run last season. He was also a point-per-game player at the Memorial Cup.

Given all of these factors, it’s easy to see why Edmonton selected and subsequently signed O’Reilly to a three-year entry-level contract worth $964,000.

He’s still young and has lots of room to grow, but Oilers and Knights fans should both be excited about him achieving another milestone in his OHL career.