YOUNG BARONS DEBUT

9 years ago

Last season the Edmonton Oilers recalled a lot of players from Oklahoma City and there’s every chance it’ll happen again. Do the Oilers have legit prospects on the farm? Yes. Are they ready? In one case yes, but there’s a good chance the next regular forward you see in Edmonton via the Barons will be a tall center.

FARMHANDS IN EDMONTON 2013-14

Mark Arcobello 41GP, 4-14-18
Phil Larsen 30GP, 3-9-12
Martin Marincin 44GP, 0-6-6
Will Acton 30GP, 3-2-5
Oscar Klefbom 17GP, 1-2-3
Steve Pinizzotto 6GP, 0-2-2
Taylor Fedun 4GP, 2-0-2
Tyler Pitlick 10GP, 1-0-1
Anton Lander 27GP, 0-1-1
Roman Horak 2GP, 1-0-1
Brad Hunt 3GP, 0-1-1
Ryan Hamilton 2GP, 0-0-0
Linus Omark 1GP, 0-0-0
Richard Bachman 3GP, 3.02 .916

2014-15 OPENING ROSTER

As you can see “highest paid” doesn’t necessarily translate into first recalled. The Barons have a very expensive center (Anton Lander) and defenseman (Keith Aulie) on their roster, but the recall list has players ahead of those men.

IMMEDIATE RECALL

D Martin Marincin—As Jonathan Willis wrote this morning, Marincin’s absence from the big league roster is beyond curious. The whispers are growing to a scream, as he’s a perfect fit for one of the specific and galling problems of the NHL parent club.

CALL AS NEEDED

Anton Lander would likely be the short-term recall option if a center went down, and I’d guess that Steve Pinizzotto or Tyler Pitlick would be on a plane if anything happened on the wing.

The interesting item for us to discuss in this regard: At what point do the emerging players take over from Lander, Pinizzotto and Pitlick?

MOVING ON UP!

Based on who got send down and when, I think it’s reasonable to assume the Edmonton Oilers are looking at the Barons youth as the real ‘gems to watch’ this season.

September 23: Connor Jones, CJ Ludwig, Ty Rimmer sent to minors
September 29: Martin Gernat, Kale Kessy and Jason Williams sent to minors
September 30: Travis Ewanyk, Jordan Oesterle, Mitchell Moroz, Dillon Simpson and Andrew Miller sent to minors.
October 2: Laurent Brossoit and David Musil sent to minors.
October 3: Richard Bachman sent to minors.
October 5: Tyler Pitlick, Steve Pinizzotto, Martin Marincin, Keith Aulie, Jujhar Khaira, Bogdan Yakimov and Anton Lander sent to minors.

Right at the end of the training camp and preseason, when they’re sending down the veterans who were in the mix (Lander, Aulie), we see the names Jujhar Khaira and Bogdan Yakimov.

That’s probably a tell.

JUJHAR KHAIRA

MacTavish on Khaira: “The things that stand out about Jujhar are his strength on the puck
(214 pounds) and his character. He answered the bell physically. He has to work on some things but he’s an exciting
prospect.”

Source

BOGDAN YAKIMOV

Bogdan Yakimov has been a fascinating prospect for Oilers fans since the club drafted him. Entering training camp he was a curio and the big man damn near made the team. Last night he made his AHL debut in a 3-2 OT loss for the Barons, and was one of four centers for the Barons. Yakimov was joined by fellow prospect Jujhar Khaira along with minor league veterans Anton Lander and Jason Williams.

Not dressed among centers? Travis Ewanyk. Khaira, Yakimov and Mitchell Moroz all received the opening night push, with Curtis Hamilton and others held back.

Expect to see more of that as the season rolls on. The prospects to watch in Oklahoma City are the AHL rookies—Khaira, Yakimov, Moroz, Dillon Simpson, Jordan Oesterle and Iiro Pakarinen. Craig MacTavish’s policy of playing the kids certainly reflected the opening night roster. It’s up to them to flourish with the opportunity.

Game one’s star was Iiro Pakarinen, who scored a goal at evens and had a power-play assist in his AHL debut. His arrival in the organization as a legit prospect signals yet another truth about this year’s Barons—Pakarinen and Jordan Oesterle may not be drafted players but are a little older and will get every chance to show what they can do under Todd Nelson.

It’s going to be a fun year tracking Barons.