With the Bakersfield Condors being eliminated from the AHL playoffs, who, if anyone, will be called up as a “black ace” to help bolster the Edmonton Oilers NHL playoff run?
Since teams no longer have a 23-man roster limit nor a salary cap during the playoffs (the latter which everyone has become very familiar with for reasons that don’t need reiterating since they’re basically written in stone by now).
Will it be prospects who come up mostly to get the experience of being around the team during the most important season? Will it be veteran players who are insurance to step in due to injury or the team needing a spark?
Most of the time, these black aces never play, but sometimes they surprisingly do and make an immediate impact (see Brad Winchester).
So who comes up for the Oilers?
Philip Broberg
This is basically a slam dunk, seeing as Philip Broberg was called up already this playoffs (he was actually called up twice and then sent back down twice within the span of 3 days). He was also recalled today before Game 4.
Broberg still hasn’t quite established himself as an NHLer, but he played 46 games last year and a further nine games in the playoffs, so it’s not like he’s a super green rookie. He also played great in the AHL after being sent down, posting 38 points in 49 games which was good for 4th on the team despite playing almost 20 games less than everyone else. He was second on the team in the two playoff games they played, notching one assist.
Having Broberg up would put him alongside Troy Stecher as insurance on the back end and allows the Oilers to have both a left hand and right hand option that can step in and fill in pretty easily.
Drake Caggiula
Drake Caggiula is on his second stint with the Oilers organization and has played 282 games in the NHL. He has also played 21 playoff games: 13 with the Oilers in 2017 and eight with Chicago in 2019–20 (including four against the Oilers).
While the Oilers depth up front makes it unlikely he suits up (Sam Gagner, Derek Ryan, and Connor Brown all have yet to play a game yet), he would still be a good option to have around the team, even if it’s just as a guy players like to have around (he has known McDavid since high school, after all).
Jack Campbell
Jack Campbell has had a disastrous start to his career with the Oilers, resulting in him being waived and sent down to the AHL in just his second year of a five-year deal. Now that the Condors have been eliminated, Campbell has been recalled.
Although Campbell’s struggles continued initially, he seemed to regain some of his form, ending the season with a save percentage of 0.918 and GAA of 2.63 in his 33 games. Unfortunately, his one playoff game was not great, as he let in five goals on 35 shots in a 5–1 loss.
Still, having a third goalie around is always a good idea, and Campbell is another player who is well liked in the locker room, so it’s not like it would be a distraction in any way. Plus, Campbell was good in his spot relief last year in the playoffs, to the point that fans were wanting him to start near the end of the series against the Golden Knights.
Raphael Lavoie
Lavoie played his first seven NHL games in his career this year, but didn’t notch a point.
However, he had his best AHL season to date, scoring 28 goals and 50 points in 66 games. He has been improving each year, and fans have been clamouring for him to get more of an opportunity at the NHL level.
Given the depth up front, it is unlikely that Lavoie would get in during the post season unless there is a huge string of injuries. Normally the fact that he is more of an offensive player would maybe help if an offensive player would be needed, but with Gagner and Brown already in the wings, he still has a hill to climb.
But he is still a part of the Oilers future, and so having him around the team for the playoffs has some value.
Adam Erne
Erne wasn’t a huge scorer for the Condors, only posting 12 points in 36 games, but he did play 24 games for the Oilers this year and so that familiarity would make it likely he gets brought up as well. Erne also has 317 NHL games under his belt, and is a good 4th line grinder, so if a need for that kind of a player comes up he could actually see some game time, given he fills that role a bit better than the other scratches (although Derek Ryan is still likely to get the call before him).
Other possible call-ups
The above are likely the only call ups, but there are some others that wouldn’t necessarily be surprising to see come up.
Olivier Rodrigue could also come up, for a similar reason as Lavoie to just give him some time in the NHL locker room and environment. But since he hasn’t played an NHL game in his career, it seems unlikely he would jump over any one to get dressed for a game.
Brad Malone could also be called up as a thank you from the organization prior to his retirement at the end of this season. He’s has played 217 NHL games in his career, 41 of them with the Oilers. He also got into 2 playoff games with the team in 2022.
Normally you would think other players on NHL contracts who led the AHL team in scoring like Lane Pederson and Seth Griffith would be shoe-ins to be called up. They still very well could be, considering again that there is no roster limit. But if the Oilers do decide to limit the amount of players called up, I would consider them to be on the outside looking in.
Finally, one player with an outside chance would be Xavier Bourgeault. His performance this year hasn’t exactly screamed that he’s a player on the cusp of playing in the NHL, yet alone in the playoffs, but he is still a prospect that the team has been high on, and so perhaps they call him up to give him the experience around the room to see if that helps boost his development.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
