Condors Re-Sign Ryan Hamilton
By Scott Zerr
8 years agoRyan Hamilton returning to the Bakersfield Condors, and hence the Edmonton Oilers organization as a whole, is certainly the start of something.
But is it the beginning of a status-quo off-season for the AHL farm team or is it the launching point for a summer of signings?
The Condors are bringing their captain back for not just one, but two seasons, though the new deal is a straight AHL contract, not a two-way NHL/AHL agreement. Hamilton moves off the Oilers’ 50-man roster and basically becomes sole property of the Condors. Now the Oilers have an open spot on their 50 but at the same time keeping a valued leader with the Triple-A affiliate.
Hamilton was part of the veteran core in the Condors’ lineup that included Brad Hunt, Matthew Ford, Phil McRae, and the now-departed Andrew Miller. Consternation came frequently from Oilers fans and followers that the leaders were taking away valuable ice time from prospects, and having Hamilton back in the fold might keep that chatter coming. But who should have played more minutes?
Tyler Pitlick was constantly hurt.
Bogdan Yakimov split for Russia part-way through the season.
Jujhar Khaira’s year of development was quite fruitful.
Braden Christoffer, Marco Roy, Greg Chase, and Alexis Loiseau got their opportunities as first-year pros. So, too, did players like Josh Winquist and Josh Currie.
So who exactly got overlooked in favor of Hamilton? The Oilers/Condors were just that thin in terms of forward prospects after Leon Draisaitl and Iiro Pakarinen were called up, and as of now, there aren’t many, if any, top-6 forwards on the way.
Bringing Hamilton back doesn’t hurt because if he’s still as good as he was this season (33 points in 60 games), he can fill the centre spot on either of the top-two lines or move down the roster should a fine young prospect come a-calling. Hamilton is a glue guy, and the Condors need an experienced leader who can help them win. The young prospects, as the Oilers have learned the hard way, can’t go through season after season of learning while losing.
“We had a really good veteran core but they’re all trying to do what’s best for themselves and their careers and they’ll be a huge help if we get them back. In saying that, the guys that we already have under contract, we went right to the end (trying to make the playoffs) and we’re really confident with the guys we already have on the team. We’re just going to add to the pieces and hopefully bring a winning culture, get excited for next season and try to win a championship.” – Ryan Hamilton
What won’t work, though, is if Hamilton is in fact the opening move in a wave of re-signings and the Condors simply wind up with the same crew back for another campaign. The 11-year pro is a key cog but really the sole individual that really needed to be brought back. There has to be some change to the other moving parts. The Oilers/Condors need some fresh faces and new blood on the farm, and it doesn’t particularly matter where they come from including junior/college free agents or via acquisitions.
Whether it’s all or pieces of the core group, the Condors roster can’t be complete repeat of last season. The time has come for some change. Hunt should be out the door. Ford was the team’s leading scorer but is probably headed elsewhere. The rest – McRae, Pitlick and Luke Gazdic among them – all have risk/reward components.
The end-of-year lineup wasn’t good enough to make the playoffs and that fact can’t be solely be chalked up to not having Draisaitl, Pakarinen, Darnell Nurse, Griffin Reinhart and Laurent Brossoit for the entire season.
The Condors will wind up having to wait for the Oilers to make the bulk of their moves which will then in large part sort out the Bakersfield roster.
To no one’s surprise, what’s missing with the Condors is the same as what the Oilers are searching for as well. Head coach Gerry Fleming and his staff won’t know what they’re getting until Peter Chiarelli and the Oilers brain trust figure out what they can grab onto, but the Condors do know what they need and want.
“Having spent the year in this division size and grit are two things at a premium with teams like Ontario and San Diego. They’re big and heavy teams, they’re gritty and they’re hard to play against. Those are all elements that we’ll probably be looking for. I know that Edmonton has our best interests in mind and we’ll have a good team with good players going forward, and I’m confident we’ll put a good product on the ice next year. We want to have success in this organization and I anticipate they’ll be moves up top and they’ll be moves down here. I think the ultimate goal is to have success organizationally at the NHL and American League levels.” – Condors assistant coach Tony Borgford
At least the Oilers can look on the same shelves at the store for themselves and their farm team.
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