Bear and Starrett added to Condors active roster, Wells to Wichita

According to the Bakersfield Condors’ Twitter account, Ethan Bear and Shane Starrett’s tour of duty with the Oilers has come to an end, at least for now. After returning from Europe and landing in Boston, both players were added back to the Condors’ active roster today.

For Shane Starrett, getting sent back to the Condors after finishing his duty as the emergency third string is not surprising at all. I guess the same can be said for Ethan Bear given that Kris Russell was back in the lineup on Saturday, though he’s a lot closer to landing a job. Considering the Oilers had to make a roster move to clear space for Russell, there really weren’t many options on who could be sent down so Bear was assigned to the AHL in a paper transaction to make it happen. Today’s move makes it official.

Obviously, the team wants to see what Evan Bouchard can do in the nine games he’s likely to play (at least) and that means that Bear was going to be the odd-man out, at least for the time being. If Bouchard struggles, Bear will be the easy choice as the first defensive recall and I can’t imagine it will be long before we see No. 74 back with the big club. What’s important right now is that Bear is getting some game action and he will get plenty of minutes with the Condors while he waits.

With Shane Starrett landing back in Bakersfield, the team had to clear a space in the crease which meant Dylan Wells was reassigned to the Wichita Thunder. Wells will now join Stuart Skinner in Wichita to form a formidable duo in the Thunder’s net, creating some competition for minutes as both guys navigate the early days of their professional careers.