Since our update last week, the Bakersfield Condors played four games in six days both being a set of back-to-backs.

First, they were in Abbotsford on January 6th and 7th, where Bakersfield took both games. The second set of back-to-back games for the week started on Saturday night against the San Jose Barracuda, where they saw their four-game win streak come to an end with a 4-3 loss. However, the young Condors fought back on Sunday and shutout the Ontario Reign 3-0.

Bakersfield is both fighting the flu bug and the injury bug lately, in the only loss against San Jose this week they had 10 forwards dressed and still fought hard. Ever since December 13th where the Condors won 8-7 against Tucson the most goals they have given up in a game is five and you can see the attention to detail not only defensively, but also in how they take care of the puck.

I think it starts with the growth of Damien Carfagna and Beau Akey. Getting involved in the transition as a defenceman is a tremendous help to your forwards who are trying to break the puck out with possession. Both the first-year pros are showcasing growing confidence in their puck-moving ability. I think the first clip below from Carfagna paints the picture perfectly.

If you aren’t confident in your skating ability to keep that close of a gap you aren’t making that play. The former Buckeye turns defence into offence within seconds as he forces the turnover and then gets involved in the entry. Below is another great example of Carfagna’s tight gap control and close-out ability turns defence into an instant transition opportunity.

The final clip of the Ohio State alum showcases the offensive deception Carfagna has and how he can create himself a bit of space to take advantage of.

I have been impressed with the growth Carfagna has shown halfway through the season and with Cam Dineen out again the six-foot defender will see an uptick in minutes. The team should have confidence that Carfagna will hold himself just fine.

Speaking of confidence just like I stated earlier Beau Akey is showcasing a ton of it in his puck moving ability. I started to take note of the progress two weeks ago, but this past week showcased it fully. It starts with simple plays like in the video below.

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen Evan Bouchard make this pass to a streaking Connor McDavid, but I’ve also seen a lot of defenceman dump this puck in. The former Barrie Colt is taking care of possessions and not wasting any of them at the moment. Not only is Akey getting involved offensively, but he is also making chances happen which leads to points.

The second game against Abbotsford was by far Akey’s best game of the season in my opinion. The offensive plays just kept pouring on, below is another clip from that game. It’s more of a set offensive zone play where he takes a pass and creates a solid chance out of it.

This is all without showcasing the goal the right-shot defenceman scored in the same game (which I’ll put at the bottom here). Damien Carfagna and Beau Akey have shown tremendous amounts of growth throughout the season and have added needed depth to the Condors blueline. They seem to have the green light in any scenario to get involved offensively and kudos to the coaching staff for allowing them to flex this muscle. Both players don’t have a massive point total and that doesn’t tell the full story. If they can continue down the same path there is a scenario where one of them (especially Beau Akey) may get a look in the NHL in the coming years.

The soon to be 23 year-old Finnish center has come over to the AHL and has been nothing short of impressive this season. Marjala and team captain Seth Griffith have provided some excellent secondary scoring to Quinn Hutson and Isaac Howard. Viljami Marjala might have scored the Condors goal of the year in the past week with his beautiful move against the Barracuda.

The first year Condor builds speed under the puck and takes a pass from Beau Akey with full speed while everyone is pretty still. It’s a great play from both players. Beau Akey recognizing what Marjala wants to do and of course Marjala having the smarts to build speed under then dance the defender. Shortly after that the Condors center gets in on the forecheck, steals the puck, and sets up James Hamblin for the goal to put them up by one. Marjala seems to have a deliberate plan with every movement and play he makes on the ice.

In the four games this week Marjala scored three goals and added another two assists. The playmaking center finished his week off by scoring the game-winner against the Reign late on the powerplay with a perfectly placed shot.

I started by saying how impressive Marjala’s first season as been with the Condors and now he’s sitting at 32 points in 35 games. I still want to see more progress on the skating mechanics, but Marjala makes it work using his brain and manipulating the pace of play. If the defence is up on him the former Sabre draft pick is able to use his outside edges and cutback giving himself space and his back to the defender. If the defence is playing slow Marjala will take advantage and beat you with pace by using his brain and building speed under the play. Whatever you throw at the six-foot-one center he just seems to adjust and for that fact I won’t count him out in the years coming.

Another good week filled with goals from Quinn Hutson. We’re starting to get used to hearing that now and I don’t know if it will stop at the AHL level. The former Terrier is now sitting in second place in the AHL for goals with 23 in 30 games (Arthur Kaliyev is in first with 24 in 36 games) and third in points with 38. It started early this week and it took Hutson under a minute to score against Abbotsford, but I love how he reads the play and picks off the puck cleanly.

The next goal is the real reason why Hutson continues to score. In the clip below you’ll watch him creep into the slot from the far side boards while he is hiding from every Abbotsford player and Jett Woo does one shoulder check, but its too late and Josh Samanski places a perfect backhand pass off the the wall right into the wheelhouse of the Condor’s sniper.

Now don’t get me the wrong the finish is perfect and the release is quick, but the way he gets into the soft part of the ice and reads the play is the most impressive and translatable skill showcased in the video. In the final clip below you will see once again that the Boston University alum reads the three-on-two perfectly and capitalizes on the wide open chance he receives from Roby Jarventie. Also watch Viljami Marjala take both defenceman back creating the passing lane.

The Edmonton Oilers make a great decision and extended Hutson to a two-year deal worth $875,000 per year. I thought Hutson provided some hard minutes in his NHL stint this year and he looks poised to take the jump next year, but we might see him sooner rather than later.

It’s hard to choose who to highlight in these articles on weeks like this where it feels like the whole team was rolling. Connor Ungar needs to be talked about more. The freshly turned 24 year-old is now repping a 5-0-0 record with a 1.38 goals against average, a 0.953 save percentage, and now a shutout which came on Sunday against the Reign. The former Brock University goaltender is tracking the puck extremely well and to my eye it seems like he can read the stick blades of opponents very well which makes him able to read what the next play will be. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, no matter where Ungar goes he seems to put up numbers and now the goalie situation gets even more interesting within the Oilers organization.

Now the Condors get a break and don’t play till Friday. This will give the team much needed rest from their illnesses and injuries. Friday’s lineup might look a bit different from what was on the sheet Sunday. The whole team continues to have positive plays and they now sit in fourth in the Pacific based on points percentage, the young guns continue to grow together.