It was a Friday night, October 9, 2015. The Bakersfield Condors win their first game of the season 1-0 on a goal by Andrew Miller. The boxscore is here. Among the top prospects dressed for the Oilers top farm team that night were Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, Tyler Pitlick, Jujhar Khaira, Jordan Oesterle, Iiro Pakarinen…
It’s been a very eventful week for the Oilers top prospects, as the big club gets down to the 23-man limit. News broke today that Jesse Puljujarvi is heading back to Bakersfield while Kailer Yamamoto remains on the roster. Without jinxing things, looks like Edmonton’s most recent first-round selection has made the roster for the…
You can’t go fast enough to get there early, so we might as well enjoy Saturday night hockey and the final tuneup for the regular season. The expectations for this edition of the Edmonton Oilers is high (too high?) after last season’s fantastic results.
As we get closer to opening night, the final roster choices for the Edmonton Oilers will have a lot to do with utility. Iiro Pakarinen brings a big shot plus a lot of energy. He has good speed, some PK acumen and a rambunctious style. Todd McLellan on Pakarinen: “I’m happy for Pak, obviously he had…
On the day Nick Ellis was recalled to the NHL this first time (April 19, 2017) he ranked No. 4 among AHL rookie goalies in save percentage. Ellis was sent back to Bakersfield today, but he is one of many Condors who may fly back north during the 2017-18 campaign. Here is the training camp…
The Edmonton Oilers are still in training camp, the Bakersfield Condors are still flying south and we’re several moons from having the entire hockey universe playing regular-season games. This week we saw several prospects being their seasons and there’s plenty of success among Edmonton’s up and comers. FILIP BERGLUND The young righty defender had a…
There are times when following your favorite team forces you to invest your interest in things that are not appetizing. The old Montreal Expos once spent an entire spring training auditioning options at first base that reminded me of that old World of Oz (animated version) theme song. On the other hand, sometimes you luck…
These kids arrive from far away places in pursuit of a dream. As fans of the game, we cheer for all of them, develop our favorites and follow the day to day challenges along the way. Despite a great deal of certainty about the training camp result (the die is cast for 90 percent of…
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a spot of bother as it pertains to their roster this fall. Too many quality forwards is a good problem to have, but there are possible difficulties ahead for the team. One (or more) of the draft eligible forwards may be lost on waivers. No team wants to lose…
William Lagesson is in the SHL now, fresh from a strong performance in Edmonton Oilers camp. We haven’t seen Lagesson much since he was drafted in 2014, although his performances at the World Juniors in 2015 and 2016 gave us some indication about the player. SIGNING LAGESSON AGM Keith Gretzky, via Oilers Now: “William’s a big,…
I’ve worked in media every day since June 15, 1980. I’ve worked in Edmonton media since summer 1990 (also a couple of years in the 80s I was in the city) and observed the relationship between Edmonton media and its citizens for decades. My math might be wrong, but I would venture there have been…
Stuart Skinner was one of five prospects sent back to junior today, after an outstanding Penticton camp one week ago. He was joined by Dylan Wells, Dmitri Samorukov, Kirill Maksimov and Ostap Safin, all of whom impressed during their stays with the organization. Around the hockey world, there are Oilers prospects starting their league seasons and…
