ABBOTSFORD — The Bakersfield Condors’ start to the 2024-25 season has been a bag of mixed results, best characterized by their weekend series against the Abbotsford Canucks.
The Condors and Canucks split the two-game set, with Bakersfield taking the first contest 3-1 and Abbotsford the second by a score of 4-2. As is the case with any farm team whose parent club is in ‘win now’ mode, the Condors haven’t always had the players to set themselves apart from the rest of the Pacific Division.
But those tides are slowly changing. This weekend, the Condors received key contributions from a new crop of top players, including 2022 ninth overall pick Matthew Savoie and Noah Philp, who returned to the AHL after his first three NHL games with the Oilers.

Consistency is the name of the game for Savoie

Matthew Savoie might be just 13 games into his Oilers/Condors career, but you wouldn’t know it by his confidence on the ice. Since being acquired in the Ryan McLeod trade in July, the former 2022 ninth-overall pick has been adjusting well to the AHL game and building towards his NHL dream.
The move from Buffalo to Edmonton hasn’t changed the 20-year-old’s mindset about his play. “It’s just trying to get better every day and keep working towards making the big club,” Savoie told Oilersnation Saturday. “But we have a really good team down here that likes to push each other. So it’s been really good.”
Savoie’s 2023-24 season was as chaotic as they come, jumping from league to league and team to team. Not many players can say they went to the World Juniors, played for two WHL teams (including a Memorial Cup finalist) and had stints in both the NHL and AHL in one year. Being one of the NHL’s big-name prospects often comes at the cost of a more stable schedule
The ability to work on his craft under the eye of one organization is something Savoie isn’t taking for granted. That consistency has certainly helped in his first full season of pro hockey. Savoie is currently sitting second in Condors scoring through his first 11 games, including a goal and an assist Sunday in Abbotsford.
“Last year was a lot of moving around, a lot of packing in my bag and going to a new hotel or a new city,” Savoie said. “It’s nice to just be in one spot for now, just settling in and having one staff and one group of teammates.”

Taste of the NHL has Philp looking for more

After a brief three-game stint in the big leagues, Noah Philp has returned to Bakersfield with both valuable experience and an amazing story.
After a successful first season with the Condors in 2022-23, Philp made the stunning decision to take an indefinite leave of absence from pro hockey. But after a year away and with the door left open for him by the Oilers, Philp decided the time was right to come back. And he’s certainly made the most of it, earning his first NHL call-up just six games into the season.
As the Condors centre called up to replace the injured Connor McDavid, Philp indirectly had some big shoes to fill. But he didn’t let the moment escape him in his first game in Nashville against the Predators.
“It was amazing. My family got to come out to the first one in Nashville and you just see energy and being around those guys,” Philp told Oilersnation on Saturday. “I learned a lot and I’m happy to be back.”
Philp’s first game was a success by all accounts as he picked up his first NHL point; an assist on linemate Corey Perry’s first-period goal. 
While his next two contests took on a more limited role, it wasn’t a bad first stint for someone who nearly left the sport entirely.
That roller coaster ride to the NHL hasn’t fazed the 26-year-old, and neither did sharing a locker room with the likes of Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. “They’re all pretty welcoming and they’re really good guys,” Philp said. “They were happy for me. It was a pretty fun process.”
But with McDavid returning from injury, Philp is looking to turn the next call-up into a more permanent stay by making the most of the ice time the Condors give him. “Most of [the message from the Oilers] was just to keep playing,” Philp said. 
“I’m just trying to get in games, feel the rhythm again. The more I can play, the better.”

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