Though the Oilers NHL season holds plenty of drama, the organization has more layers to it. For healthy organizations, the AHL is an extremely helpful tool, not only for the future, but also in offering immediate help. With that in mind let’s take a closer look at what to expect from the Oilers AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
Forwards
Griffith—Samanski—Hutson
Tralmaks—Marjala—Raty
Clattenburg—Nicholl—Pitlick
Keppen—Robertson—Stonehouse
Injured: Stefan
The Condors top-six is chock full of proven AHL talent. Seth Griffith returns as an undersized scorer, a staple as an AHL leader. Eduards Tralmaks joins as a big bodied goalscorer, Aku Raty as more of a two way option who has had highs and lows across his AHL production. Rem Pitlick joined last season, helping provide this forward group with a solid baseline. Tralmaks might be the most likely call up of this quartet, but even then it is not likely.
Of course, three players in particular are of note to the NHL side of things. Josh Samanski was a surprise cut, and many expect the centre to find his way back into the NHL lineup for good. For now, a season spent bouncing up and down seems possible. Quinn Hutson and Viljami Marjala might be worth a look in the NHL as well, but are smaller and more skilled. All three will need to be proficient penalty killers to help their chances of getting a full time NHL job.
There are prospects further from the NHL lineup. Connor Clattenburg plays an aggressively physical style, which has already earned him attention. Oilers Coach Mike Babcock expressed some encouragement that Clattenburg rounds out his game with some growth with the puck. William Nicholl is an AHL rookie, graduating from the OHL. Nicholl developed well after being a late round pick, and has potential as a speedy checking centre.
Beyond that, Brady Stonehouse, Ethan Keppen, and Matt Copponi could all see some AHL time this season. Their hopes as NHL prospects might be thinner, but some steps forward could help change that. Stonehouse, in particular, seems to have a rougher playstyle that could help him reach the next level.
Defence
Stillman—Brown
Carfagna—Bookman
Cibulka—Akey
Injured: Leppanen, Regula
Riley Stillman and Josh Brown feature as AHL stalwarts. They do help to stabilize things, though an NHL call up might be a bit ambitious. Atro Leppanen and Alec Regula are both injured, and would likely perform well as a top pairing for the Condors. Leppanen and Regula will need to get healthy first, but are the more likely NHL options on this roster.
Although Zach Bookman enters as an AHL rookie, eyes will be fixated on younger players Damian Carfagna, Tomas Cibulka, and Beau Akey. Though Akey has the most draft pedigree, Carfagna and Cibulka have been more impressive of late. Carfagna is coming off of a strong rookie season, while Cibulka had an impressive training camp with the Oilers.
Steps forward from these three would make this blueline quite formidable. A quality barometer for the progress of all three will be how much they push Leppanen and Regula for icetime. If they can establish themselves as credible top pairing options in the AHL they might start to enter the NHL conversation. Until then they will not have much trade value if the Oilers look to add throughout the season.
Goalies
Ungar
Tomkins
Jonsson
Day
From top to bottom, goaltending remains the hot button issue for the Oilers organization. The performance for the NHL team is one thing, but the depth chart is a bit messy beyond that.
The good news is that the Oilers have some intriguing prospects in their system. Connor Ungar deserves more AHL starts this season, and the Oilers should be testing his mettle to see if he is ready for the next step. The organization has been slow and cautious with his workload, only conceding a real run as an AHL starter towards the end of last season. Ungar played well for three different ECHL teams last season, finally earning 13 AHL games. He looks to push for a starting role this season.
Samuel Jonsson and Nathaniel Day will start in the ECHL, though both played well in that league last season. Instead of having a path to an AHL role this season, they find themselves splitting the net once more. This might be particularly curious for Jonsson, who has already played in leagues that are seen as comparable to or better than the ECHL. Jonsson might even be an SHL starter had he stayed in Sweden.
Forget that Emil Vinni has no room to fit into the conversation, as he is better off playing a lot elsewhere. Matt Tomkins features as a solid AHL option. It is nice to have a lot of depth, but the alignment is less than ideal.
Overall
The Condors are equipped to try to better their results from last season. While there are AHL rosters that look stronger on paper, the Condors have enough to support growth for their younger players.
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