Persistence pays off for Philip as Oiler nets first NHL goal

EDMONTON — It has been a long road for Noah Philp to scoring his first NHL goal.

The 27-year-old native of Canmore, Alta., had his dream come true Saturday as he scored the first goal of his NHL career to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1.

It’s a pretty big deal for any player, but made even more so for Philp, who walked away from the game for all of the 2023-2024 season with the plan to retire for good.

After going undrafted, Philp played for the Edmonton-based University of Alberta Golden Bears and impressed the hometown team enough to get signed by the Oilers in April of 2022.

He played the entire 2022-23 season for their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, but opted to call it quits after one year of pro hockey.

However, after some travel and reflection, Philp opted to give the game one more shot last season and even made it into 15 games with the Oilers, picking up a pair of assists.

This season he made the team out of training camp and on Saturday crossed off a pretty major pro hockey bucket list item by getting his first goal when the Oilers finally broke a scoreless deadlock 12:21 into the second period. The fourth line came up big when Kasperi Kapanen fed the puck ahead to Philp and he beat Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko with a snapshot.

“We turned it over in the D-zone and I knew we had a three-on-two and then me and Kapanen had a couple of exchanges and I was just trying to get it over to him and drive the net and he made the play to me and I just threw one on net and it worked out,” Philp said.

“It felt great. Once you do it you know you can. I’ll just try to keep building on that and making plays. I definitely have to play smart, but try to take chances when it is the right time.”

Philp said he has had a lot of support getting to this milestone moment.

“It just reminds me of all the people who supported me. I’m just grateful to be here,” he said. “My wife was in the stands and my parents are out in Sweden visiting my brother who is playing over there. I wonder if they got up for the game, it’s like 4 a.m. or something. I’m sure my dad might of.”

Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl, who scored his second of the season on a long backhand into an empty net to ice the game, said it was great to see Philp rewarded for his hard work with a goal.

“It’s amazing to see,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a great story. Those always feel a little more special. He’s a really good kid. He wants to be here and he wants to make a difference. When things like that happen you just get very excited for him.”

Philp has been playing on the fourth line with Kapanen and Vasily Podkolzin and they have been a big plus in the eyes of head coach Kris Knoblauch.

“I like that line. I gave them a little more heavy minutes, more difficult situations, and I thought the three of them played well,” he said. “And (it was) nice to see Noah get rewarded with that nice goal.”

The key now is to keep building on his game.

“I think there’s always kinks to work out,” Philp said. “I still feel new to the league, but I’m excited to keep improving and to keep working at it and hopefully get stronger.”

Also scoring for the Oilers was Andrew Mangiapane, who netted his second goal of the season in as many games since signing with Edmonton as a free agent this summer. It was his 500th NHL game.

Edmonton outshot Vancouver 37-15.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2025.