The Edmonton Oilers announced today that Anton Slepyshev has been assigned to the Bakersfield Condors.

If there’s one bad thing about missing training camp and the pre-season it’s that you’re starting the race a step behind everyone else, and that’s where Anton Slepyshev finds himself today. As such, the Oilers have assigned the winger to Bakersfield to get himself up to speed and get some game action in before making the jump back to Edmonton. Smart move right here.

Looking at the Condors’ schedule, they have a pre-season game coming up on Friday night against Stockton and I would expect that the Oilers want him to get at least a game in (hopefully more) before recalling him shortly after. From where I blog, it makes perfect sense for Slepyshev to get some extra practice time and game action in before making his Oilers debut. Playing in the NHL is hard enough as it is without having to get into game shape on the fly.

I believe that Slepyshev already has a job locked up on the team and I appreciate that the Oilers have enough depth to allow him to fully recover from his ankle injury. Even though the conditioning stint is likely to be a short one, I would rather see Slepyshev in Oilers silks when he’s ready to play and not having to worry about testing his ankle out. See you soon, Anton.