The Edmonton Oilers have the talent to contend for a Stanley Cup. They just haven't been able to pull it all together in the Stanley Cup Playoffs yet. In fact, they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This past season saw some of the team's internal prospects take some steps. Evan Bouchard continued proving his worth in the NHL. 27-year-old blueliner Vincent Deharnais emerged as a reliable bottom pairing option. And goaltender Stuart Skinner finally developed into a legitimate NHL option between the posts.

Heading into the 2023-24 season, the Oilers probably don't have a prospect waiting in the wings to make an immediate impact. However, they still have prospects that are close to the NHL. And these prospects all have something to prove this fall. Let's take a look at three Edmonton Oilers prospects to watch ahead of NHL training camp.

3) Matvey Petrov

Petrov looks ready to make the leap to professional hockey after dominating the Ontario Hockey League with the North Bay Battalion. This past season saw the 20-year-old score 27 goals and 93 points in 65 games. He added another four goals and 22 points in 20 OHL playoff games.

From an offensive standpoint, Petrov might be the most promising prospect the Oilers have. That said, the Russian forward is not the greatest on the defensive end of the ice. And that might impact his NHL trajectory.

Overall, it'll be interesting to see how Petrov performs in professional hockey this year. He likely spends the season with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors this season. A promising season there could translate into an NHL role sooner rather than later.

2) Xavier Bourgault

Bourgault is an interesting player. He entered his first professional season with the Condors being seen as a highly-skilled offensive performer. While we did see glimpses of that, Bourgault didn't put it all together with much consistency, unfortunately.

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The 20-year-old scored 13 goals and 34 assists for the Condors in 62 games. These certainly aren't awful numbers by any means. However, this isn't the type of production you want to see from an offensive-minded player.

That said, it wasn't all terrible. Bourgault did find his game down the stretch for the Condors. In their final 14 games, the 20-year-old scored two goals and 12 points. It's certainly a promising sign for the Oilers brass.

This season could be an important one for the Quebec native. His chances of making the NHL straight from training camp are rather slim. But the 20-year-old could certainly use this time to find some consistency and turn in a promising season in the AHL.

1) Raphael Lavoie

Lavoie is not Edmonton's top prospects, but if any of them are making an impact in the NHL this season, it's likely him. The 22-year-old improved upon his 2021-22 season with Bakersfield, scoring 25 goals and 45 points in 61 games this past year.

The Quebec native actually got off to a slow start in the AHL. However, he went on an incredible run in his final 42 games of the season. 40 of his 45 points came in those final 42 games.

It's hard to gauge whether Lavoie actually can make the NHL roster this season. He naturally plays as a left winger, and it seems as if those roles are filled. Perhaps he sneaks into the team's bottom-six this fall. If that's his goal, Lavoie will need to put in the work in training camp and force the Oilers to include him in their plans.