If there was any question that Anton Lander really belonged with the Edmonton Oilers, it was addressed on Friday when he went through the age-old team tradition of being placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

Replacing him on the roster is a player who has been a positive surprise pretty much all season: defenceman Jordan Oesterle. 

While Lander is on injured reserve, the good news here is that Jeff Petry, who suffered a rib injury in Wednesday’s win over Boston (I know “win over Boston” sounds implausible, but it’s seriously a thing that happened that you can look up) is not joining him, at least for the time being. The recall of a defenceman is suggestive that Petry is day-to-day and questionable for tonight’s game, but the placement of Lander on IR is equally suggestive that his injury isn’t seen as overly serious by the Oilers. 

Perhaps the most interesting item here is that the player getting the recall is Oesterle. 

Diehard fans will naturally remember Oesterle’s performance in training camp this season, a performance which gave him a good head start on a climb up the defensive depth chart. We recapped his performance early in rookie camp, but it wasn’t just the blogs noticing that Oesterle was off to a fast start: 

Now, obviously, Oesterle hasn’t been recalled because he showed well in rookie camp; that was him pushing the door open and he then had to do something with it. 

That sounds good, and of course it must be when one takes a second to look at the Barons’ defence and realize who Oesterle was called up instead of:

We’ve seen Davidson and Hunt already this year, albeit not lately. The other three have all been prospects of some note (more than Oesterle?) for the Oilers and while they’re all a year younger than the guy who got the recall it’s interesting that they aren’t higher on the depth chart at the time being. It’s not damning by any stretch – in Detroit all three of those guys would probably be looking at the middle of next season for their first recall – but it’s an item worth noting.

But that’s the negative way of looking at things, and this really isn’t a move that should be seen in a negative light.

From the player perspective, Oesterle was never drafted but now at 22 years of age is going to have a chance to play his first NHL game. It’s easy to lose sight of how special that is; as a kid I used to dream of lining up at centre ice of an NHL rink, even just for one game, and it’s a sure thing I’m not alone in that. The first recall is a massive professional milestone; if Oesterle plays it’s even bigger.

From the team perspective, Oesterle is one of Bob Green’s players, an undrafted free agent the Oilers didn’t spend a pick on who has established himself as a prospect of interest to the organization. If he plays in even one game, that’s more return than any team gets from most late draft picks and a clear win for the amateur procurement side.