Farewell Barons

Quick post, but I feel like it is worthwhile. The Oklahoma City Barons fell tonight 1-0 in game seven of the AHL’s Western Conference semi-final and were eliminated by the Utica Comets.

Richard Bachman was good, and the Barons played tough, but it simply was not meant to be, as Jacob Markstrom was sensational for Utica. The Comets will move on to face the Grand Rapids Griffins in the West Finals, but that isn’t important to us who follow the Oilers/Barons.

This marks the end of an era in Oilers hockey. The Barons, since the start of the 2010/11 season, served as the Oil’s top affiliate. After years of Edmonton not having an AHL team to run, the team finally set-up shop again, and it proved useful.

Some solid players have spent time in Oklahoma City over the years, including Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Magnus Paajarvi, Teemu Hartikainen, Linus Omark, Mark Arcobello, Andrew Miller, Jeff Petry, Justin Schultz and more. Even coaches, like Todd Nelson and Rocky Thompson, made an impact.

It wasn’t just the on-ice impact the Barons had on us, it was the off-ice impact as well. Neal Livingston, Eric Rodgers and Patricia Teter kept us updated on the prospects and kept us entertained with banter on twitter and friendly conversation. I know Neal and Eric both appeared on the podcast, and I’ll miss hearing about the prospects from them.

Losing an AHL franchise sucks, I’ve been through it. Following the 2009/10 season, the Lowell Devils left for Albany, New York, taking away my local minor-hockey fix. I miss the Devils, and I know those in OKC will miss the Barons. A sad ending for some great fans down in Oklahoma territory, as my friend Lowetide would say.

As for on the ice, the Barons had a successful season. Laurent Brossoit emerged as a starter in the AHL, posting a .918 SV% in 53 games, while Andrew Miller emerged as a late-bloomer with 60 points in 63 games.

Bogdan Yakimov had a solid rookie season, while Curtis Hamilton got his pro career back on track with his best year to date in the AHL. Rookie pro Josh Winquist, on an AHL-only deal, emerged as a prospect and earned a contract by my eyes too. Jujhar Khaira passed the test defensively, while Kale Kessy showed signs before injury.

Defensively, Brandon Davidson and David Musil emerged as potential NHL options down the road, in Davidson’s case as early as October. Jordan Oesterle had a successful rookie season, earning an appearance in the NHL, while Darnell Nurse owned it in the post-season.

While the Calder Cup didn’t happen for this bunch, a solid year of development did. That’s a great sign for the future of the Oilers, as there was a high number of up-arrows in Oklahoma this winter and spring.

It’ll be fun tracking these young guys, especially Nurse, Winquist, Brossoit, Musil and Oesterle in Bakersfield next season. With Greg Chase, Kyle Platzer and possibly Leon Draisaitl joining the fold next season, the Condors will be a fun team.

While we’ll have fun in Cali, we’ll always remember Oklahoma. The Barons have a special place in Oiler history, as they represent the return of a steady AHL team to the organization. They never missed the playoffs, and they never failed to entertain us. For that, we thank the Barons.

I’m sad it ended this way, I truly am. With that said, thanks Oklahoma, it’s time for us to head west.

End scene.