Bakersfield Condors And The Prospect Pipeline

Stan Bowman keeps saying the roster is set. Fine. Write it in pen if you want.But "set" on July 31 and "set" on opening night have never meant the same thing in this league, and the Edmonton Oilers, along with every other team, know this. Injuries happen. Slumps happen. Somebody in the top nine takes a bad step in October and suddenly the guy in Bakersfield isn't a prospect anymore, he's the answer. So while the NHL group looks locked in on paper, the real offseason story is one level down in the AHL: who's actually close enough to matter this year, and who's still doing the work.Start with Isaac Howard, because the Oilers already have. The word is he doesn't need a warm-up lap through the AHL. He makes the team as a left wing, full stop, which is a real jump for a player who was raw enough a year ago that scouts were telling people to slow down on him. Somebody clearly didn't listen.William Nicholl is getting the same kind of treatment, which is rare for a rookie. His skating and his habits away from the puck are advanced enough that he's in the mix for penalty-kill minutes right out of camp, not just waiting his turn on a call-up list. If that holds, maybe he's making a dent in the roster. AHL roster that is.Owen Michaels signed for two more years this summer, and that's not the kind of deal you hand a player you're planning to bury in the minors. He's not projected to break camp with Edmonton, but the expectation is he sees NHL games this winter, and probably sooner rather than later. The first time somebody in the top six goes down, watch for his name.Josh Samanski is the one still sweating it out. He's got a real shot at making the Oilers out of camp, but he's fighting for the job rather than being handed it, and there's a big difference between those two training camps.Criticism of McDavid’s McKenna Comments May Have Missed the Mark Criticism of McDavid’s McKenna Comments May Have Missed the Mark Sid Seixeiro’s attempt to challenge Connor McDavid over the pressures of the Toronto market backfired, ironically confirming the Oilers captain's assessment while exposing the media's volatile nature. Then there's Bakersfield, where the more interesting bet is sitting.Matt Savoie's 20-year-old season is the blueprint: 19 goals, 35 assists, 66 games, a point-per-game pace that puts him in company most Oilers prospects never sniff. The history on skilled forwards at that age says volume matters as much as production. Somewhere around 100 AHL games, which he didn't quite hit, a player either starts pulling away from the league or he doesn't.Now there's Quinn Hutson, Atu Raty and James Stefan who make up the right-wing depth in Bakersfield, and none of them are pushing an NHL door yet. Viljami Marjala can put up points at the AHL without much trouble (60 in 72 games), but that hasn't translated upstairs. Tommy Lafrenière and the rest of the junior-eligible names are further out still, a year or two from being part of any conversation that matters.Countless Professional Players Partake In Wainwright Charity Hockey Game Countless Professional Players Partake In Wainwright Charity Hockey Game Wainwright doesn't get an NHL player through its doors very often, so when three of them walk in for a Charity Celebrity Hockey game on a random Wednesday night, the town takes notice. None of this group is walking into an NHL job in September. The roster's full, the cap's tight, and Bowman has made his bet already: spend now, bank the space for next summer, let the kids force the issue if they can. That's just where the organization is.That's exactly why the Bakersfield roster is worth more attention than usual this year. Because everyone wants to know whether the help is ready the moment the team actually does.Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss the latest news, game-day coverage, and more. Add us to your Google News favourites, and never miss a story.