Oilers send Ethan Bear and seven others to AHL in latest round of cuts

As we inch closer to the start of the regular season, the Oilers have pulled out the scissors and have made their second round of cuts. Ethan Bear, Ben Betker, Greg Chase, Braden Christoffer, Joe Gambardella, Ziyat Paigin, Kyle Platzer, and Shane Starrett have been sent to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. Last week, the Oilers sent five players back to Major Juniors.

None of the 11 players who have been cut from the roster are surprises at all. The Oilers have a largely set roster, save for some competition for final spots on the roster between players like Mark Fayne and Yohann Auvitu and a possible extra forward role if Anton Slepyshev isn’t ready to start the season.

Some interesting prospects that are still around camp are Kailer Yamamoto, Joey LaLeggia, Caleb Jones, and Nick Ellis. Of that group, I figure Yamamoto is the only one with a real chance to crack the team. I think it’s very unlikely he does because he has the body of a pre-teen and could use another season in the WHL, but if Jesse Puljujarvi has a very weak camp, the 2017 first round pick could work his way in for a nine-game showing.

The Oilers have four more games left in the pre-season before opening 2017-18 at home against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 4.

The Oilers also announced that they’ve released Chad Butcher & Evan Polei from their amateur tryouts, as well as Josh Currie, Ryan Hamilton, and Zach O’Brien from their professional tryouts. Again, none of these players were cracking the team and were just there to fill out space in scrimmages and practices at camp.