This Bakersfield Condors update will be on the prospects that caught my eye in the last seven to eight days. This will also be on the games played from December 12 to December 20. Unfortunately, the Condors only played three games during this eight-day span.
Three forwards stand out of the group
Three forwards have really stood out, in not only the last three games, but the last five to eight games. They are Xavier Bourgault, Tyler Tullio, and Carter Savoie.
You might be asking yourself why I haven’t included Raphael Lavoie in this list? The reason why I haven’t included him is not because he has played bad—he just has not been as surprising as those three players. He has been very good in two of the last five games. In the last three games, Lavoie has only scored one goal but that is not for the lack of trying. He’s been getting chances and creating them as well so he will be back to his regular form soon. He was a little undisciplined in last night’s win as he took two offensive zone penalties toward the back half of the third period.
Ever since Tullio has come to start his regular season, he has taken off fast and high along with his two teammates. Bourgault and Tullio started playing together in Tullio’s first game and they have developed instant chemistry. Both have been great in the the corners of the offensive zone and they have been helping in the defensive zone as well. Bourgault and Tullio have been efficient in winning puck battles and at creating a good cycle game with their centre, Greg McKegg. They were rewarded for their efforts as Bourgault made a soft pass behind the net to McKegg, who threw it in front for Tullio to backhand into the net. Both are now getting power play time together.
Carter Savoie has picked up his game the last five games. He has continued his decent play as he has now recorded three points in those five games. He picked up an assist last night as he made a nice deke at the blue line and set up Jayden Grubbe for a beauty tap in. It eventually ended up being the game winner. Savoie is one of the best passers on the Condors and it is often overlooked. In his first 13 games, Savoie had only two points. In his last five games, he has gone onto record three more points. Therefore, his pace is picking up. However, he has only one goal in these 18 games. His goal scoring has to pick up as it will lead to more points.
How the defence has been holding up
The defence of the Condors has always intrigued me in the last two seasons. But, this season I have kept my eyes on it a lot and it is mostly because of my prized prospect Maximus Wanner. But, more than just Wanner have stood out in the last three games. Philip Broberg has taken over the #1 defenceman duties with aplomb. In his first nine games with the Condors this season, Broberg has scored one and three assists. He has now started to play 25 to 27 minutes of ice time for the Condors along with D partner Phil Kemp. However, I have noticed that Broberg has gotten some ice time with Wanner as well.
Broberg has been great at 5v5. He’s been a stalwart in the defensive zone at using his size and breaking up plays. What is even more impressive is his skill of taking the puck and just skating it up the ice and creating a chance on net. His puck rushing and breakout passing from the D zone to the offensive zone are great. So far, he’s been getting top penalty killing time and second unit power play time.
Max Wanner. What more can I say about this kid? He has been just solid all season. In the last three games, he did have a bit of a struggle in confidence as the defence fell off during one of the games where goalie, Jack Campbell, had a bad outing. But, other than that, he has been very good defensively. His defensive play and penalty killing has been quiet, effective, and strong. Tonight, he had to be very strong on defence as Cam Dineen was not in the lineup. Wanner took the challenge and was a stalwart on defence. Near the end of the game, he blocked a few hard shots on the penalty kill when the Calgary Wranglers tried to tie the game. He had to walk off the shots but he did his job.
Rodrigue having a stellar season so far
Two words and one name. Olivier Rodrigue. The kid has been lights out. In his 29 games last season, he had a 2.77 GAA and a stellar 0.913 save percentage. This season, Rodrigue has a sparkling 2.14 GAA and a stellar 0.938 save percentage in his seven games played so far. He recorded his third win of the season last night and boy was it a doozy. 38 saves had to be made, some in the high danger chance variety, to steal this win from the Wranglers. Rodrigue only allowed two goals tonight as the Condors managed four goals. Olivier Rodrigue also had to come in last game as fellow goaltender Campbell got pulled in the second period. He only allowed one goal in that game on 16 shots.
Tonight, the kid was on some kind of level. He was pretty quiet in the first 10 minutes of the game as he did not get very many shots. But after that, the Wranglers came at him with lots of shots and crashed the net. Rodrigue stood his ground and made some good saves. In the second period, it was all Wranglers, in terms of shots, and they managed one goal past Rodrigue. In the third period, the Wranglers scored their second goal on the PP. It might have been a momentum boost for them. But Rodrigue shut the door with the patience and composure of #1 goalie during the rest of the period. The highlight for me were the saves he made during the penalties the Condors took in the thirdperiod. Rodrigue was their best penalty killer.
What is next for the Condors?
From the sounds of the media in Edmonton today, it sounds like Rodrigue has now taken the reigns as the #1 goalie in Bakersfield and he will be getting the majority of the starts. He will be getting the next start. Call the cops Edmonton! The Oilers have stolen a #1 goalie in the second round!
