Oilers loan Dylan Holloway to AHL Condors for NHL All-Star break

The Edmonton Oilers made a roster move following Saturday afternoon’s win over the Nashville Predators, as Dylan Holloway was loaned to the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League.

This isn’t a demotion for Holloway. It’s an opportunity for him to play a handful of games with the Condors while the Oilers are off for a week and a half during the NHL All-Star break.

Edmonton’s next game will be on February 6 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Between now and then, Bakersfield will play three times. They’ll host the Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday and then they’ll hit the road to play a back-to-back against the Texas Stars next Friday and Saturday. The Oilers will be back in action the following Tuesday.

Getting into games is important for Holloway, considering how much time he’s missed due to injury over the past few seasons.

His rookie season at the professional level in 2021-22 was delayed until January because of a wrist injury suffered at the end of the previous season. Holloway started the 2022-23 season with the Oilers and scored three goals and nine points over 51 games before being sent to the American Hockey League. He suffered a shoulder injury in his first game playing with the Bakersfield Condors and missed over a month of play.

This year, Holloway fell awkwardly into the boards in a game against the New York Islanders in November and had to spend two months on the Long-Term Injured Reserve. Since returning, Holloway has scored a goal and an assist in four games and has looked effective playing as both a centre and a winger on the third line. He also scored four points in four games in Bakersfield before re-joining the Oilers.

Having Holloway healthy and performing down the stretch would be a game-changer for the Oilers because it crosses one more thing off of Ken Holland’s to-do list ahead of the trade deadline. Edmonton added Corey Perry to their bottom-six forward group and Holloway being able to play two positions effectively would round things out nicely.