For the second straight year, Russell played all 68 games for Bakersfield Condors, and showed enough to earn a one-year extension at season’s end. He improved his boxcars across the board from a paltry 8-9-17, -8, 22 PiM to 14-13-27, -1, 48 PiM. That was good enough for fourth on the team in goals and fifth in assists. He showed enough to earn the invite to the World Championships, which were played right in his native country of Denmark. By eye he played an effective grinding game, though he failed to find the scoresheet in 7 games.

On June 8th the Oilers re-signed 25-year-old prospect, Patrick Russell to a one year contract extension. The deal comes after Russell completed his second season with the Oilers’ farm team, the Bakersfield Condors. Last season with the Condors, the Danish winger nearly doubled his goals and points output from his rookie AHL season and finished with 14 goals and 27 points in 68 games. With Bakersfield’s lack of veteran offensive producers, Russell could potentially find himself in a top six role this season.

Russell is a big bodied power forward that excels in the offensive zone. He’s not a fantastic skater, but his ability to move his feet and find open space in tough areas in front of the net make him a dangerous offensive threat. He has improved in his second season to become a more well-rounded player, by becoming better defensively and playing on the penalty kill for St. Cloud State.

“I like to play hard, get to the net, use my body to my advantage. I want to create a little more offense and try to take the puck to the net with me a little more, but most important is to play good defense. For our team, we have to play good defense and hope it will help us create good offense.”

“In Bakersfield, I play a lot of penalty kill. I don’t play any here. So, I’m trying to focus on playing strong 5-on-5 and on the power play, get to the front of the net and use my body, tip pucks, block the goalie’s eyes, win battles, those kind of things.”

Russell is 6-1 and 205 pounds, but seems to play bigger than his size lists. He plays a physical game and enjoys playing along the boards or in front of the net, two places where contact is nearly constant.