Sending Dylan Holloway to the Bakersfield Condors should be on the table

The Edmonton Oilers have found their groove again after a slight dip throughout February. They still finished with an above .500 record for the month, but bad habits from earlier in the season slipped back into their play during a few of those games. Nevertheless, they found their way through and now sit second in the Pacific Division after the Vegas Golden Knights lost 7-2 to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.

Outside of Edmonton, a couple of rookies are making headlines around the league for two much different reasons. Matthew Rempe hits and fights everything that moves, including Ryan Reaves on Hockey Night in Canada. While the former Spruce Grove Saint is catching headlines for his fists, Logan Stankoven, a Dallas Stars prospect, hit the ground running with three goals in five games. Despite his early success, the Stars still sent him down to keep his development rolling with the Texas Stars.

Does he still need time in the American Hockey League? Likely not, having already scored 24 goals and 57 points in 44 games down there. However, the Stars clearly value the available puck touches and time on ice waiting for him down there.

While in the NHL, Stankoven has played north of 14 minutes during his five-game stint, which is something fans in Edmonton need to see from Dylan Holloway. Questions have now sparked about Holloway’s deployment this season, playing most nights on the fourth line while Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown and Corey Perry rotate through the vacant right wing spot on the second line. The Oilers have played Holloway more than 14 minutes twice this season, which came back in October against the Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers.

With the trade deadline approaching and with the lack of cap space Ken Holland has to play with, should the Oilers consider sending Holloway to Bakersfield for the remainder of the season? He spent a brief period with the Condors already this season, playing four games and scoring as many points as possible. The organization experimented with him playing centre during his stint there but has yet to utilize him in the middle, much now back in Edmonton.

Earlier in the season, a decision was made that Philip Broberg would benefit more from playing, so he was sent to Bakersfield. He hasn’t returned to Edmonton since but has found his game again with the Condors. Broberg now has 29 games under his belt, playing top minutes, and is improving daily. Whatever you think of Broberg’s future is irrelevant because, in the present, the organization did the right thing by allowing him to play rather than playing four minutes a night in the NHL. The decision has even made the Oilers think about moving Brett Kulak out to play Broberg in that spot instead.

Why can Holloway be the new Broberg? Holloway has played 49 games in Bakersfield, scoring 17 goals and 36 points. There’s no doubt that Holloway has all the tools to succeed at the NHL level, but playing 10 minutes or less a night alongside Derek Ryan and Connor Brown isn’t exactly a recipe for success. Let him thrive in the American Hockey League alongside the other future talents of the NHL.

Not only does the move benefit Holloway, but it also gives Edmonton $925k more in cap space. They’ll need to find a replacement for him, but adding a piece to play on your fourth-line left wing shouldn’t be difficult.

While the team is thinking about the present, they need to consider the future in some regards, too. Holloway will become a vital player in Edmonton for years to come; however, do right by the player if you’re not going to play him in the NHL. Follow the Dallas Stars model and let your prospects thrive away from the big club.

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