With the Edmonton Oilers starting their playoffs, the Bakersfield Condors are following suit on Thursday evening when they take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

But first we should talk about how their season finished off. In the final week of the regular season the Condors played three games, which included an overtime loss against the smoking hot Henderson Silver Knights and a split in the back-to-back against the San Jose Barracuda. Bakersfield put up a great game against the Silver Knights that included Seth Griffith scoring with 40 seconds left to tie the game at two.

Unfortunately Henderson was able to take advantage of the power play in overtime to take the three-to-two win with former Condor Raphael Lavoie scoring the winner. The Condors were missing Isaac Howard for the game as he was up with the Oilers, and maybe missing him was the difference between a win and an overtime loss. However, the Oilers’ top prospect was back in the lineup for the games against San Jose.

Bakersfield was able to take three out of a possible four points against the Barracuda on the weekend as they won the first game by a score of 5-2 and then lost in overtime the next night, 4-3. The game on Friday went to script as the Condors went up 3-0, but they saw that lead diminish to one after two straight from the Barracuda, but Roby Jarventie scored two straight to secure it.

On Saturday, once again, Bakersfield tied it up late when Atro Leppanen scored with 2:30 left on the game clock. However, they once again couldn’t finish the game in overtime, and with that overtime loss, they finished the season with the most overtime losses (11) in the AHL.

What a great first professional season Isaac Howard has had up to this point. The “Ice-Man” finishes the AHL regular season with 24 goals and 50 points in 47 games played. Howard was also named to the 2025-2026 AHL All-Rookie team. The dynamic left-shot winger is currently riding a three-game point streak heading into the playoffs as he looks better than ever right now. I keep saying it, but it’s hard to not note down that Isaac Howard has continued to score in many different ways, and it continues to fuel my optimism for his scoring ability to translate to the next level. The first clip below is a beautiful play all around, but of course it’s Isaac Howard finishing it off.

I like his second goal from the weekend a bit better than this one, but the overall passing play and puck control throughout the whole power play sequence were excellent. Isaac Howard made no doubt that the puck was going to end up in the back of the net with how much power he put into it. The next clip is his other goal from the weekend, and it’s a beautiful redirection at the side of the net.

When I say that Howard is scoring in different ways, add this goal to that discussion. The former Hobey Baker winner shows off his soft touch with the picture-perfect deflection off of a shot pass from Atro Leppanen. Howard is scoring off the rush, down low, on one-timers, etc — whatever way there is to score, the Oilers’ top prospect has most likely done it, the puck just finds its way to the back of the net when Howard is on the ice. In the final clip it showcases a little more of that playmaking ability I’ve highlighted before, and it’s an excellent chip pass to Viljami Marjala, who tips it home.

Howard is absolutely rolling heading into the playoffs, and after 50 games of nothing but high-octane offence, I don’t expect the first round to look different against Coachella Valley.

I wonder what other Bakersfield Condor joined Isaac Howard on the All-Rookie team? Well, of course it’s Quinn Hutson, who finished his impressive rookie campaign with 30 goals and 63 points in 67 games played. On top of making the All-Rookie team, Hutson finished as the goal leader among all rookie skaters in the AHL. The former Boston University star finished his last week of the season with four assists in the three games played as he was all over the ice. None of the clips I gathered are of his assists, just going to show how good Hutson was this week. In the first video it shows the 24-year-old under pressure from an oncoming defender as he slips a pass through him to an open Roby Jarventie.

It’s a simple play, but it’s hard to get the puck off the wall and into a dangerous zone. Plus, the added layer of being under pressure on your backhand doesn’t make it any easier. Quinn Hutson has shown off his dual dynamic offensive profile this year, and it continues to get stronger as the Condors head into the postseason. The next clip below is my favourite play from Hutson throughout the week.

Using the extremely limited amount of ice he has off the entry, Hutson is able to drag the puck right out of the reach of the Barracuda defender, and then he is able to thread a perfect pass to Howard, who tries to connect with Leppanen backdoor. Instead, Marjala ends up just missing the scoring chance. It’s a dangerous play to make with such little ice, but Quinn Hutson made it look easy. The video also showed off the continued feel for the opponent’s range as he was able to drag that puck just out of the way of the defender’s stick. In the final clip it shows off the 176-pound winger fighting off the Silver Knights player, leading to a defensive zone exit and offensive zone entry, and he sets up Dineen for a good look.

Quinn Hutson has been excellent in his first professional season, as he ends the season as the rookie goals leader. But as you can see, he is more than just a scorer. The former Terrier is able to generate his teammates some excellent looks. A big playoff will help Hutson’s case going into training camp next year when he is fighting to make the big club.

Jarventie set a career high in points at the AHL level with 23 goals and 47 points in 61 games played. This is the most games the Finnish winger has played in since he suited up for 70 during the 2021-2022 season when he was a member of the Belleville Senators. The main goal this year was to get Jarventie playing as many games as possible since he has struggled with injuries over the past three seasons. To finish off his regular season, the six-foot-three winger scored two goals and added an assist in the last three games, including an empty net goal that got the San Jose Barracuda quite fired up.

If you’re a Condors fan, you’re laughing, but if you’re a San Jose fan, you’re swearing at Jarventie and wanting anybody on the ice to do something as he just stands there staring at your team. The offensive winger’s other goal didn’t stir the pot as much as the first clip did, but it showcases his beautiful release as Jarventie finds the top twine on the powerplay.

The final clip of Jarventie is a great zone exit into zone entry like the Hutson video, however the big Finnish winger adds his own spice to it with a great move under the defender’s stick.

I also love how Jarventie is able to stop on a dime and almost make a beautiful pass across the ice for a chance. Once again I believe this was an excellent regular season for Roby Jarventie, and I like him as a bottom-of-the-lineup option going into next year. A lot of his production came at even strength, as only six of his goals came on the powerplay, and he is able to create offence off the cycle. As I said earlier, the main goal was playing a good chunk of the year, and early in the season he wasn’t playing some back-to-backs; he did miss some games due to injury, and he was with the Oilers for some games, but in all, Jarventie played 61 games out of a possible 72, which is excellent.

The Condors face off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Thursday evening, kicking off a three-game series. Bakersfield fared quite well against the Firebirds this season as they played eight games against each other, seeing the Condors take six of them. However, the Firebirds did win the last matchup, and they will be receiving some help from their NHL team as the Kraken didn’t make the playoffs and are free to send down any waiver-exempt players. The first game is in Bakersfield with the final two being at Coachella Valley. Even though the Condors took the season series by a good margin I still think it will be a close matchup due to the home ice advantage and the extra troops coming down to Coachella. Either way it will be a great test for the young players who are experiencing their first playoffs.

Edmonton, it’s time to dust off your best game fits—playoff season is here. And for every away game, The Sauce is taking over Greta Bar YEG as the official playoff headquarters. There ain’t no party like a Nation playoff party. Expect food and drink specials you can’t beat, t-shirt tosses, giveaways, games, and a few surprises we’ve been saving just for the Nation Citizens. Whether you’re coming for the game, the atmosphere, or just to get a little saucy with the crew, this is where you want to be when the team hits the road. Secure your table by texting Greta’s hotline at 1-587-418-8507.