Mike Babcock explained his decision to healthy scratch Jake Walman for the Edmonton Oilers’ game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, saying players have to earn their place in the lineup through competitiveness and attention to detail.
Walman was the seventh defenseman at Tuesday’s practice after playing just 13:16 in Monday’s 4-3 shootout loss to Detroit. It was his second-lowest regular-season ice time with Edmonton when he wasn’t injured, per Oilersnation.
“The same thing with every player. You earn your opportunity. And you earn it through competitiveness and detail. And so what are you? If you’re a d-man, there can’t be chances against and the puck can’t go in your net. That’s just a very, very simple thing,” Mike Babcock said.
The coach said his decisions come down to what gives the team the best chance to win, regardless of a player’s reputation or contract.
“I just stand there each night, and I watch the guys, and then my job is to make the decision to help the team win, and that’s what I do each and every night,” he said. “And it’s personal to the guy, but it’s not personal to me, and it wouldn’t matter if you’re my son. That doesn’t work like that.”
Mike Babcock also said Walman’s benching had been coming, pointing to repeated video reviews of the defenseman’s mistakes.
“For sure. If you’ve gone over and over and over it and it’s been coming now,” Babcock said when asked if Walman knew the scratch was coming. “You guys watch the game once and I watch the game lots. And I see those clips, and I see those clips over and over and over again, so if you’re in the wrong clips, pretty soon you’re in the wrong spot.”
When asked how Walman was handling the decision, Mike Babcock told reporters,
“You should ask him.”
Walman later spoke to the media and admitted that being out of the lineup was difficult, but said he was focused on moving forward.
“It’s obviously not fun being out,” he said. “I’ve been through some tough times in my career, but they make me stronger. I know that for sure, and I believe in myself. So that’s where we are now.”
Mike Babcock’s decision puts Jake Walman’s $49 million contract under scrutiny ahead of Flames clash
Jake Walman is in the first year of a seven-year, $49 million extension signed on Oct. 6, 2025. The deal carries a $7 million cap hit through 2032-33, along with a full no-movement clause for the first three seasons and a 15-team no-trade list afterward, per PuckPedia.
He has one assist and a minus-7 rating in nine games this season. Edmonton has also been outscored 10-3 during his 109 five-on-five minutes, according to Oilersnation.
Walman’s role came into question again on Monday. After Mattias Ekholm left the game with a head injury, rookie Shakir Mukhamadullin moved up to play alongside Evan Bouchard rather than Walman. The Oilers are 8-2-2 after back-to-back losses to Toronto and Detroit.
Edited by Sonali Verma
