Oilers Assign Four To Condors

With eight days remaining before opening night, the Oilers decided to handle some more house keeping on Wednesday by cutting four more players from their training camp roster. Two of the players cut today come as no surprise, while two of them were popular picks to make the team among the fanbase.

Who Is Cali Bound?:

The Oilers assigned D Martin Gernat, D Darnell Nurse, F Mitch Moroz and F Iiro Pakarinen to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Both Moroz and Pakarinen had been battling injury and never got the chance to show off much. Gernat was also battling injury, but unlike the other two he didn’t even get a single chance to show off his stuff.

Darnell Nurse comes as a slight surprise, but he was wildly inconsistent in his outings this camp. In some games, Nurse looked fantastic, providing steady defensive play with physical ability and some puck moving too. In other games he looked inconsistent and looked like a rookie professional.

Disappointing Showings:

Gernat, Moroz and Pakarinen all have to be disappointed to a degree by camp. None of them got a chance to perform, so it’s tough to really say it was their fault. That said, Pakarinen had a real chance to make this roster if he stayed healthy, that’s gotta be a big blow to him.

Both Moroz and Gernat had difficult seasons in 2014-15 and certainly were looking to reestablish themselves within the organization. Neither of them got the chance to do so in training camp and will have to fight for their Oiler careers from behind in the AHL this year, that’s also a tough blow.

The Right Move:

Darnell Nurse is going to be a tremendous Edmonton Oiler, of that I am convinced. That said, it was the right move to send him to the AHL earlier today. Like I said above, he showed some good signs, but he just couldn’t play a consistent game and didn’t force himself into Edmonton’s top-four defensively.

As a rookie pro, it’ll be a great experience for him to go to Bakersfield and play a massive role for the Condors, who should be one of the top teams in the AHL this season. Playing a massive role and being able to develop while working out the kinks in his game is a solid move by the Oilers.

I would imagine Nurse is in Edmonton by Christmas time, by the way.

PLAY. THE. KIDS.:

Mitch Moroz struggled last season in Oklahoma City, but that’s because he never really got a chance to shine. If the Oilers want their former second round pick to ever materialize into a player at the NHL level, they need to let him develop and give him playing time in the minors, not sit him in the pressbox.

I’ll be interested to see how the gritty forward gets used in Bakersfield, it’s a massive year for him as a prospect.