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Connor Ungar’s impressive stretches make him an intriguing Oilers prospect

Photo credit: Flickr/Bakersfield Condors

By Michael Menzies

Jul 15, 2026, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 15, 2026, 17:14 EDT

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Connor Ungar got in his miles last season. The Edmonton Oilers prospect netminder played all over the United States, including a stunning sequence of starts for the Bakersfield Condors.

What’s the key to playing for four different teams in one season?

“Just try and stop the puck,” said Ungar during Oilers Development Camp. “Your teammates like you the more pucks you stop. So it’s that simple.”

At times, Ungar did make it look simple.

He began the year in the ECHL with the Greensboro Gargoyles since he would be the third goalie with the Fort Wayne Komets. He played four games in Greensboro before shuffling over to Fort Wayne in late November. Then he played twice for the Komets before going to the Orlando Solar Bears for a five-game stretch.

In December, as Connor Ingram got a chance he’d seize with the Oilers, Ungar was recalled to the AHL and impressed. So much so that some fans were calling for Ungar to get a look at the NHL level.

Over the course of roughly a month, he started nine games for the Condors and never had a save percentage below .900 in a single contest. Opponents only scored 16 goals. That run proved unsustainable, as his numbers suffered in his last three appearances before heading back down to the ECHL.

Overall, he appeared in 13 AHL games with a 9-2-2 record, one shutout, a 2.51 goals against average, and a .923 save percentage.

“Looking back, it flew by,” he said. “When you’re moving around that much, everything’s new, everything’s going by quickly. But the main focus for me last year was just coming back from that injury.

“Trying to make sure my knee would hold up, trying to take care of that. When I just kind of narrowed my focus to that, I think everything else kind of took care of itself, and just trying to be ready to play wherever they had me.”

Ungar happy to re-sign: ‘I’m an Alberta boy’

Ungar joined the organization in March 2024 after a season playing for Brock University in Ontario, and parts of five seasons playing junior.

There are goalie prospects the Oilers have drafted and signed in recent years like Samuel Jonsson in the fifth round in 2022 and Nathaniel Day in the sixth round in 2023, in the pipeline.

Eemil Vinni was taken in the second round in 2024, Daniel Salonen in the sixth round in 2025, and Ryan Cameron in the seventh round in 2026, but all of them are unsigned.

So, there is competition in the long-term future of the Oilers’ crease, along with budding Devon Levi.

But Ungar, 24, has carved out a solid start to his pro career through two seasons. That led to Ungar’s re-signing to a one-year deal.

“Obviously, I wanted to come back,” said Ungar. “I’m an Alberta boy and I’m happy to be part of the Oilers. Fortunately for me, the team wanted me back as well. We were able to land a one-year extension pretty easily.”

Veteran pro Matt Tomkins is in the fold, as well as Jonsson, competing for work in the AHL. Ungar’s focus this summer is on taking care of his body and getting his weight where he wants it, pressing for a longer look with the Bakersfield Condors.

He calls it the “tedious stuff” that you don’t get much opportunity to work on in-season.

“That’s where you really have to work on that stuff in the summer and make those big jumps in the summer,” said Ungar. “I think I just try and do what I can personally to make sure my game is at the best level it can be. That’s part of narrowing your focus, just controlling what you can control.

“I have little things in my game that need to get better. I know if I focus on those things, I’ll be able to push to make the big club here, and then whether I land there or in Bakersfield, stop more pucks at the end of the day.”

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.

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