Oilers recall Caleb Jones, assign Joel Persson to Bakersfield

This morning, the @Edmonton Oilers announced via their social accounts that the team has recalled defenceman, @Caleb Jones, while also re-assigning @Joel Persson back to the Bakersfield Condors.

Less than a week after being recalled, Joel Persson is on his way back to Bakersfield after playing in three games with the Oilers since coming back to the bigs. During those three games, Persson averaged just under 14 minutes of ice time while contributing no points or shots on goal while stationed beside @Oscar Klefbom on the second pairing. By my eye, I thought that Persson looked decent enough, but he still seems to be too tentative without the puck in his own end and it allows the opposition more time and space than they should probably deserve. That’s not to say that Persson won’t ever figure it out, he clearly has the puck skills to make a go in the league, but it’s also clear that the learning curve is a little bit steeper than we perhaps had anticipated. In 13 games played with the Oilers in his rookie campaign, Persson has registered two assists with 13 shots on goals while starting the majority of his shifts in the offensive zone (55.9 oZS%).

In his place, Caleb Jones will make his return to the Oilers’ lineup and it will be interesting to see where he will be slotted in. Will he be back with Klefbom? Will he play with @Kris Russell on the third pairing? To be honest, I was surprised to see that the Oilers had re-assigned Jones because I thought that he was filling in quite nicely in Larsson’s absence, but clearly, the coaching staff felt otherwise. Now that he’s back, it will be up to Jones to prove that he belongs as the team approaches the final stages of his waiver exemption and will have to make a decision on him sooner than later.