Ryan Stanton placed on waivers

According to the team’s official Twitter account, defenceman Ryan Stanton has been placed on waivers with the purpose of assignment to Bakersfield (AHL).

Stanton, who inked a two-year, two-way contract with the Oilers this summer, suffered a foot injury during his only pre-season game and has been on the shelf since.

It seems very likely Stanton will clear through waivers considering he hasn’t played anywhere near a full season in the NHL since 2014-15. I mean, somebody could pick him up for the purposes of depth or just to screw with the Oilers, but if former No. 4 overall pick Griffin Reinhart doesn’t garner any interest on the waiver wire, Stanton won’t either.

Assuming he does clear, Stanton will join a logjam on the Bakersfield blueline. Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones, Ryan Mantha, and Ziyat Paigin are the D-men prospects currently playing in Bakersfield, while the rest of the Condors’ blueline is rounded out by Dillon Simpson, Keegan Lowe, Mark Fayne, and Ben Betker, journeymen and young-ish players who aren’t really considered prospects anymore. Lowe and Fayne have only made it into two games, while Bear, Jones, Mantha, and Simpson have played in all seven.

The biggest concerns for Oilers fans right now in regards to Bakersfield’s blueline is the development of Bear and Jones who, both in their first years in professional hockey, appear to be interesting prospects. The addition of Stanton to the roster likely won’t have much of an effect on either of the two aforementioned key prospects, but could bump someone like Betker down to the ECHL or Fayne into a cannon and into outer space.

Source: Edmonton Oilers, Official Twitter Account, 10/31/2017, 10:17am MST