With 13 games remaining in the regular season, the Condors find themselves in fourth place, trailing the San Jose Barracuda by four points. The first game against the Tucson Roadrunners started off well as the Condors had 10 shots in the first period and a lead entering the third period, but Tucson tied the game and won it in overtime. Bakersfield answered the next day with a massive 2-0 win over the Roadrunners. Matt Tomkins had a great game and earned the 30-save shutout.

The next weekend was a back-to-back against the Texas Stars, and the Condors got the start they’d hoped for. After allowing the opening goal, Bakersfield locked it down and replied with four unanswered goals. However, the next night was quite a bit different down south. The Stars scored six straight goals on Saturday night to take a 6-0 lead on the Condors, who would get two late goals from Alec Regula to lose 6-2. I was impressed with the start that the Condors had in the “blowout” loss to the Stars, every chance that Texas had found it’s way to the back of the net.

With the injuries in Edmonton, Roby Järventie was called up and should see some NHL games while he is there. The issue is that the Condors are now missing some of their top-of-the-lineup players with only 13 games remaining. Isaac Howard and Quinn Hutson remain in Bakersfield for the time being, and if they were going to be called up I believe it would have happened with the two prior call-ups. It tells me that the Oilers want their young scoring prospects to finish the year in the AHL, barring injuries.

Roby Järventie – Winger

The Finnish winger is off to the NHL to help out the big club, as he was called up on an emergency basis earlier this week. I think the call-up is well deserved, and I can’t wait to see how Järventie plays in the NHL. This will be his first stint in the NHL since the 2023-24 season, when the former Ottawa Senator suited up in seven games. Järventie only had a goal and an assist in the four games since our last update, but as I always say, he was creating offence. An underrated attribute to the winger’s game is his defensive work ethic, and in the two clips below, Järventie’s defence turns into offence instantly for the Condors.

In the second clip you can see that Järventie doesn’t mind staying low and playing the “centre” role defensively. The first clip highlights his stops and starts, the responsible winger doesn’t loop by either player. I love when a player can close out quick and it was greatly executed by Järventie. The powerforward scored an empty-netter as his only goal in the four games, but his assist to Samuel Poulin was a beautiful saucer pass right into the heart of the defence.

Good play by Poulin to back up ever so slightly to help open the passing lane, but that pass by Järventie is perfectly executed. As I keep saying though, what gets me excited about the Oilers’ latest call-up is his ability to be a play connector. He just plays the game the right way. Below is a clip that illustrates my point.

It’s a simple play, but Järventie pushes the defence back and attracts two defenders to him. The winger uses his edge work to cut back against the grain and find the trailer. Our next two clips aren’t as simple as the last, but it shows off the amount of skill Järventie carries with his game.

Again this is why Roby’s game is really starting to grow on me. The six-foot-three winger trusts his fundamentals and awareness till it’s time to use his skill. That puck pick-up in the first clip is way harder than it looks, especially with three defenders in the proximity. The second clip is Järventie doing it himself and setting Samuel Poulin up for a decent chance on goal.

I like that Järventie is getting rewarded for his play with the Condors, I think he has been excellent for some time now and his style of play is exactly how the Oilers need to play. Strong along the wall, create offence off the cycle, and lean on the defence for an extended period of time. The question is how much ice time will Järventie see.

Quinn Hutson – Winger

The former Boston University star is still having a great first full professional year with the Oilers organization as Hutson is now up to 26 goals and 50 points in 54 games played. In the past four games Hutson has a goal and two assists with 15 shots on goal, but the one thing I’ve continued to notice is an uptick in penalty-killing time. If the right shot winger wants to move on up and be an everyday NHL player he will need to continue to work on his defensive game. The first clip is a good example of the continued develop in Hutson’s defensive effort and awareness.

Hutson doesn’t have to be a stout defender he just needs to be trustworhy in his own end. The amount of creativity and his lethal shot will provide a bottom six with some secondary offence. Hutson is also feisty, he won’t shy away from contact. I see a path where the young winger can get his defensive game to the point where an NHL coach can trust him in his own end. Of course the main attraction of the Americans game is the offence he can provide. In the clip below it shows how lethal Hutson can be on the power play and given an inch of space.

After getting the puck back after his one-timer is blocked, Hutson creates some magic by breaking away from two defenders and finding Viljami Marjala who’s shot hits Isaac Howard and goes in. I love the hip work displayed by Hutson here, he opens up his hips to fend off sticks and uses his inside edge to continue to push through. The former Terrier is able to fight through a fair amount of checks at his size and it’s all because of his inside positioning, below is another example.

Hutson understands how to eliminate the hands of the defenders when they are on his backside and allows him to process even under immense pressure. It’s almost his subconscious reacting now. The final video below is to show how Hutson is able to blend his skills together.

I have seen Hutson shoot this puck a countless number amount of times. When I say “blend” this is what I mean. He sets up the move to his backhand because he’s in a great spot to shoot in stride and even looks like hes loading up to do so when he starts crossing over, but he uses that to fake out the defender. The feisty and skilled winger is having a great season and he continues to improve defensively. After another off-season of training for the NHL I’m interested if Hutson can win a bottom-of-the-lineup spot next season.

Isaac Howard – Winger

Isaac Howard started off his four-game stretch with a two point night against the Roadrunners, however he is now on a three-game pointless streak. That is not an issue at all in my opinion as the former Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick continues to create offence every shift it seems now. Howard is now at 16 goals and 35 points in 35 games played which is an incredible scoring pace for a rookie at the AHL level. Matt Savoie who is currently playing in the top-six for the Oilers had a points-per-game pace of 0.81 as a reference point. Howard has continued to impress me with his off puck play as a forechecker and even his defensive play continues to strengthen. The former first-rounder is looked at as a top-six option in the future and he will have to continue to hunt down pucks like in the video below.

It’s a great forecheck, but the set up pass to Viljami Marjala was even better. The playmaking ability continues to be an area of growth for the top prospect. Earlier in the year Howard was noticing passing lanes a little late, but now he is starting to get a great feel for the timing of the game. There are three videos that I want to highlight below regarding the growth of his playmaking ability, we’ll talk about them below.

It’s funny because Howard started his AHL career off super hot and has come back down to realistic expectations. but I feel like he has been playing better during the second half of the season. It’s more of that I’m seeing the growth that I wanted to see in his game. During the start of the year I found the former Hobey Baker award recipient more of a finisher and waiting for plays to come to him; which could be due to him just not reading the play well as a passer. The above passing plays weren’t happening as consistently as they are now, especially the play with Järventie that lead to a Riley Stillman chance in front. Now the other two videos show how Howard is recognizing the open man in the slot while under pressure and the amount of pucks he funnels to the slot area is a great sign to me. Even if he misses the odd target the more a player can get the puck into the middle of the ice the better. It will be another learning curve when he fights for a roster spot next year but at least Howard as the experience of NHL games this year to learn from. The final clip is a fun one from the evolving winger and it’s a good mix of defensive play with some play connecting.

It is a crazy play to make, but hey if it works out you look like a genius and this one ended up working out. It also displays the confidence Howard has in his skating and skill to beat the opposition. But once again I love how he passes the puck off and instantly finds space to get the puck back.

James Hamblin deserves some more love as he is now up to 23 goals on the season and continues to be a stellar defensive centre. Viljami Marjala is sitting at 46 points on the year and he continues to be excellent on the power play. The Condors face off against the San Diego Gulls on March 20 and then play the Calgary Wranglers on the March 21. It seems as if they will be without Max Jones, Roby Järventie, and Josh Samanski for this weekends game (as well as the foreseeable future till the Oilers get healthy), but the defensive core stays in tack and we will see what goaltender starts each game. We’re getting closer to playoff hockey and I’m excited to see the young players like Damien Carfagna, Beau Akey, Isaac Howard, and Quinn Hutson perform when the games get tighter.