It was a three-game week for the Bakersfield Condors and some Edmonton Oilers prospects, and they came out with one win.

That hasn’t happened much lately as the back-to-back losses are the first losing streak for the Condors since the calendar changed to 2026. Before the back-to-back losses, the Condors were on a 10-game point streak, winning nine of those games and losing one in overtime.

The week didn’t start out awful, thanks to the 37-save shutout by Matt Tomkins in a big 3-0 victory against the Colorado Eagles. However, two days later, on Friday the 23rd, Colorado got their revenge with a big 4-1 win in a game which saw them pepper Tomkins with 45 shots. The following day wasn’t much better as the Condors found themselves getting shelled again by San Jose, who put up 43 shots in the game. Bakersfield was given a puncher’s chance by Connor Ungar, but ultimately they ended up losing by a score of 5-3.

This was a bit of an off week for the Condors. Defensively, they were a trainwreck and averaged 42 shots against per game during the three games. Bakersfield didn’t manage to get over 30 shots in the games played this week as the offence was stuck on the perimeter, and when they had a chance, they would find every way to not put it in. This was a bit of a step back week, and I am very interested in how they respond against the Henderson Silver Knights on Wednesday. Goaltending is the least of the team’s worries at the moment, as both Matt Tomkins and Connor Ungar gave them a chance in every game. The Condors are at their best when they are taking care of the puck; when they start missing passes and turning over the puck, it gets ugly.

It’s fitting that we start with Josh Samanski, as he was just called up to the big club and was one of the better performers this past week for Bakersfield. The six-foot-two prospect had a single assist on the week, but was all over the puck. In 39 games played Samanski is sitting at 28 points, and only four of those points have come with the man advantage. The points aren’t what impresses me with the German’s game, instead it’s the two-way play and the pride he takes in playing good defence. The first two clips below showcase the defensive stick Samanski carries with him.

Both of these plays are from this past week. Constantly a problem defensively and it helps upstart some transition work. In our next two clips the smooth skating centre is able to cover a ton of ground defensively with his feet, not giving the other team an inch, and it ignites an offensive attack.

What I love about Samanski is his positioning to support all over the ice thanks to his excellent skating ability. He is constantly under the opposing centre as the high forward during a rush against and due to his length its hard for players to get away from him. However we can’t forget that Samanski does have an intriguing offensive profile too. It all starts with his passing ability and that was once again on display this week as you’ll see below.

The left-shot centre shows that he doesn’t need a clean pass to make plays from them. The first clip is one of my favourite of Samanski’s because of the pass he makes under pressure and to just punch it out to space where he knows Quinn Hutson can get to it. Its an extremely head’s up play that leads to a breakaway opportunity. I don’t know how long Samanski will stay in the NHL, but he can bring size and speed to an Oilers bottom-six that desperately needs some of that.

Unfortunately towards the end of the game on Saturday, Beau Akey took a puck to the face while he was on the bench and had to leave the game. Such an unlucky break for a prospect that was growing right in front of our eyes, hopefully the former Barrie Colts defenceman can have a speedy recovery because he was starting to roll. Now onto the good stuff about Akey. For a bit after Akey was selected in 2023 I was worried he would just be a defenceman that tries to only survive on the ice, but he has certainly found his stride now. The right-shot defender is always looking to make a play and confidence is oozing through him. I want to start this section with my favourite Akey clip from the weekend.

The first year pro shows off his skating ability by using the full width of the ice to gain himself space and create a decent look. Akey does the same thing two days later against the Eagles again, but Griffith just misses the pass.

I’m loving this from Akey, he’s not always settling for a point shot. The top defensive prospect is showing that he is willing to flex his creative muscle and try to shake the opposing forward. The puck skills still need some refining and its nit picky, but if Akey can work on separating his upper body movements and lower body movements from one another it will help sell the fakes. Now that we saw the young defender can create offence in a set environment let’s watch Akey excel at being the fourth man in on the rush.

I highlighted Akey in my last post for the offence he has been creating and it hasn’t slowed down as you can see. The numbers don’t pop out to you, but if you watch the games when Beau Akey is on the ice the puck is usually going in a positive direction. As I said at the start of this blurb I really hope Akey is okay and back sooner rather than later because not only did he find his footing, but he also took a step in his development and was continuing to trend upwards.

I have been quiet for long enough about Daniel D’Amato, but that ends here. While he may not be on a contract with the Oilers, instead on an AHL deal, I think the 24-year-old does a lot of the hard stuff on any line he’s apart of. It starts with a mix of speed and willingness on the forecheck and ends with always being on the defensive side of the puck. Not to mention he reminds me of Michael Grabner due to the fact D’Amato launches himself with his first two-steps and always finds himself on a shorthanded breakaway. In January alone I have four clips of him on a shorthanded break, but I’ll only show two to get the point across.

That second makes my heart smile, effort mixed in with a bit of skill. Now as much as I love D’Amato he is 24 years old and going to be 25 in April. Its a very far stretch, but as a defensive forechecking winger I wouldn’t hate to see him in a fourth line/13th forward role as a late bloomer if he can continue to refine this area of his game.

It was an off week for the 2026 Condors as it was their first time losing back-to-back games since the calendar flipped over. Even in their win against the Eagles they didn’t look the best, having a strong first period against the Silver Knights would put some of my worries to rest. Isaac Howard was sent down to the Condors with Josh Samanski being called up. The former Lightning draft pick has 23 points in 16 AHL contests and should help give the Condors offence a little jolt. Already light on centre depth (Matvey Petrov was playing fourth line centre) I’m interested to see what Colin Chaulk does with the lineup for Wednesday’s game.