Fear The Condors

It’s been an eye-opening, jaw-dropping weekend to say the least. The culture change in Edmonton is in full swing with the new regime completely undoing everything the former regime did to damage the club.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know i’m talking about the assigning of Leon Draisaitl, Nikita Nikitin and Ben Scrivens to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL.

With all that being said, I think it’s time we look at who will be donning the Condor’s jersey, as this is a group that could do some damage and even possibly challenge for the Calder Cup.

THE FINAL CUT

Many were shocked when the Oilers decided to cut Leon Draisaitl and sent him to the Condors today. Draisaitl had a great rookie camp and preseason, but it wasn’t enough to earn him an NHL job. This may sound strange, but this is a very good thing. The new regime is developing players the right way by letting them percolate in the minors.

I was in the middle of this article analyzing who the last cut would be and Draisaitl wasn’t even on my list for possibilities to be cut. I was thinking Rob Klinkhammer would go down, but then the news broke and I had to scrap at least five paragraphs.

Draisaitl will likely play centre in the minors, and I have him being flanked by Andrew Miller and veteran Ryan Hamilton. Draisaitl should dominate, and I’m guessing he ends up back in Edmonton by the new year and he’ll arrive with a ton of confidence.

This is the new regime ladies and gentlemen. This is what we should expect under Peter Chiarelli and Todd McLellan. Our young guys are going to have time to develop.

THE AHL ROSTER

Recent word out of Bakersfield is that 2013 2nd round pick Marco Roy, and QMJHL standout Alexis Lousieau were cut from the roster, sending them to Norfolk of the ECHL. The roster in Bakersfield will look something like this;

G
Laurent Brossoit
Ben Scrivens

D
Darnell Nurse/Joey LaLeggia
Brad Hunt/Jordan Oesterle
Nikita Nikitin/David Musil

F
Ryan Hamilton/Leon Draisaitl/Andrew Miller
Matt Ford/Bogdan Yakimov/Tyler Pitlick
Josh Winquist/Jujhar Khaira/Kyle Platzer
Kale Kessy/Phil McRae/Greg Chase

INJ: RW Iiro Pakarinen, LW Mitch Moroz, D Dillon Simpson

EXTRA: LW Braden Christoffer, C Connor Rankin, D Nick Pageau, D Martin Gernat

ECHL: D Ben Betker, G Eetu Laurikainen, C Alexis Lousieau, G Ty Rimmer, LW Marco Roy

As you can see, the Condors will have tremendous veteran depth to go along with a youth injection. Players like Kyle Platzer, Greg Chase and Kale Kessy will see weaker competition and likely get offensive zone pushes that could result in higher point production.

The Draisaitl line will likely be one of the most offensive lines in the AHL, and it’s another great mix of a young bonafide centre being flanked by two veteran wingers.

The “D” group is a fascinating one. It’s amazing how much depth the group has. Nikitin may be earning a hefty salary, but it looks as though the Nurse/LaLeggia pairing will be taking all the tough minutes, and that says a lot about those two players.

Between the pipes, I still strongly believe that Laurent Brossoit is the guy who will be making the most starts, with Scrivens taking on a mentor role like Peter Budaj did for Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets farm club in St. John’s. I believe Scrivens will eventually be moved out at some point allowing Laurikainen to take the backup role after starting the first half in Norfolk.

WHEN THE DOMINOES FALL

Injuries happen, and when they do they leave a ripple effect throughout the entire organization. Andrew Miller, Leon Draisaitl and Iiro Pakarinen (when healthy) are likely the first call-up options on forward, and when they move to the big club, expect players like Kale Kessy, Josh Winquist and Kyle Platzer to see more ice time and get opportunities.

Darnell Nurse will likely be in Edmonton by December, giving David Musil and Jordan Oesterle more ice.

I’m picking Josh Winquist as a candidate to earn an NHL contract this season, and I believe Kyle Platzer will be a big surprise, producing a 40-point season as a rookie in the AHL.

EARLY WORD

Head coach Gerry Fleming stated he will carry 14 forwards, 8 defensemen and 2 goalies throughout the season, and one player that stood out early on was none other than Jujhar Khaira. Khaira is a forgotten man amongst most of the Oiler’s prospects, and he actually was drafted by the Steve Tambellini regime. Nonetheless, Khaira is a big body centre and is now in his third pro season. Here’s the quote from Fleming;

I thought (Khaira) was a man amongst boys. I thought that was one of the best games i’ve seem him play. If he can bottle that and bring that every night, he’ll give himself a chance to play this year in the NHL. -Gerry Fleming

It’s going to be one of hell of a season in the NHL, but we must not forget that there will be an intriguing club in Bakersfield as well. Here’s to one hell of a 2015-16 campaign.

As for the rest of the American Hockey League, heed my warning…. FEAR THE CONDORS!