Good morning, everyone, and a happy Monday to you all. As always, I’ve got a brand new mailbag ready to go after taking your questions and sending them to the crew for their take. This week, we’re discussing Connor Ingram’s spot with the Edmonton Oilers, Kris Knoblauch’s three-year extension, David Tomasek, and more. If you’ve got a question you’d like to ask, email it to me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or on Twitter at @jsbmbaggedmilk, and I’ll get to you as soon as I can.

Depends how he plays in Bakersfield. If he performs well, I think he will get a look at some point in the season, but remember he didn’t take part in the Mammoth training camp, so he will need a bit of time and games played to get comfortable.

There is certainly a chance we see him on the roster this season. It will either take an injury or one of Calvin Pickard or Stuart Skinner really struggling, but there is a good chance that he plays NHL games this season. It’s important to note that Ingram hasn’t played a lot of hockey over the last year so they’ll likely take their time when it comes to letting him get his game up to speed. With both Pickard and Skinner currently pending UFA’s and Ingram still being under 30 years old, I’m also curious if there’s a chance that they view him as a potential long term fit.

There’s no certainty that we’ll see Connor Ingram play in Edmonton this season. He’s gone through tough times recently, and he needs to get back to himself before we worry about his NHL chances. My theory is that we see him for around five games tops, but the Oilers re-sign him as the backup for the 2026-27 season.

As Stan Bowman said: “The play of our goalies and the play of our team, as well as his play, will dictate where it goes.”

I think he plays NHL games this year, it’s just a matter of why, and when. Sid detailed Ingram’s upside Sunday.

I absolutely think there’s a chance. Unfortunately, hockey is a contact sport and injuries happen, so that’s one very logical way he could get on the roster. And maybe he catches fire with the Condors and the big club wants to have a look for even a cup of coffee. Either way, I bet we see him at some point but I don’t know when or for how long. How’s that for a prediction that can’t really backfire on me either way?

They need another scoring winger, unless they find some internally in the first 40 games. They will be monitoring the goalie situation as well.

It is nice to have some certainty at the coaching position, and I like that Knoblauch got to build out his own staff this summer. I think this is a tough question to answer because everything is very results driven. If they keep going to Stanley Cup Finals, and eventually win one, then there really isn’t much that would need to be changed.

The organization has done a good job improving in many positions over the past couple of seasons. I’ve noticed people talk about the Bakersfield Condors staff needing an upgrade, so maybe thats the direction they go in.

I think building out a deeper player development team under Kalle Larsson is one way to go. They’ve (finally) taken steps in recent years to grow their analytics department, and the results have been paying off.

Yep, consistency is a good thing. That said, we’ve all seen the Oilers fire coaches mid-contract before so what does it really matter? As for the second part, keep investing in analytics, data science, fitness, diet, psychology, and any other tool that can give the team on the ice even the slightest of edges.

It isn’t the do-all-end-all, as shown by consecutive Cup Final appearances, but a good start means they aren’t in chase mode all season, which could reduce some mental strain. I still think they’d benefit from having home ice for more than one round each playoff year.

They’ve overcome bad starts before, as you said, but there’s always danger in starting slow. There’s never a guarantee that you’ll get the long win streak that you need in order to turn things around. So with that in mind, I don’t mind starting the big guns together. Rack up some wins early and tinker later in the season when you’re maybe a little bit more comfortable with where you sit in the standings. Also, we know these line combinations will change every few games, so there’s no reason to think that Knoblauch will never split them up.

This season is different because of the Connor McDavid situation. The Oilers attempted to sign Brock Boeser over the summer but failed, so I wonder how crucial it is for McDavid to have a quality winger alongside him. With Hyman sidelined, Draisaitl is an elite option, and we shouldn’t have a problem with that. The good start, too, can save energy later on in the season. The Oilers are always playing catch-up, so it would be nice for them to be tone setters instead for once.

The Dynamic Duo have played around 36 percent of their five-on-five ice-time together over the past three seasons. They’ll get theirs no matter what, but putting them together certainly could help get them off to a strong start, a major issue over the last couple of seasons.

The start is important. The last two years havent’ been great, and I think that’s a run of details the team will want to have corrected. Losing some games early can obviously be overcome, but losing early is definitely not the preference.

He will start on the first unit PP and as the third line centre. Because he doesn’t require waivers, there is a slight chance he could go to Bakersfield later in the season, but from what I’ve seen in camp, I think he will be in EDM all season.

The fact he doesn’t need waivers certainly doesn’t work in his favour when it comes to being on the opening night roster. I think it’d be fine if they kept him up, but I’d want him to be a winger. If they want to develop him as a centreman, I think some time in the minors might not be a bad idea, even though he’s 29-years-old.

They’ve put him on the top unit power play, so he won’t see Bakersfield for a while. I wonder how long it takes them to put him on the wing though, rather than at centre. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Henrique are a more reliable 2nd and 3rd line centre duo than Tomasek. We have to be willing to give him a runway, though, because he has the potential to score 15 to 20 goals and make the team deeper.

I think so. Small sample size, of course, but in 59 minutes at five-on-five this pre-season, the Oilers outscored the opposition 4-0 and outshooting them 27-19 with him on the ice, controlling 63.9 percent of the expected goal share. I’d like to see him shoot the puck more, but he seems to be a solid offensive playmaker. The Oilers need those kind of guys in the bottom-six.

He doesn’t need to clear waivers so I think they’ll probably use that for cap flexibility at points. I bet he plays a run of games in the bottom-six, though. He seems to be fairly versatile and the offensive instincts look good too.

His ceiling would be a third line centre. He will need to improve his PK skills at the NHL level to earn more ice time. The biggest challenge for any player trying to earn a spot in the bottom six, is to get comfortable making plays at the NHL level. Philp has the size, speed and skill to be a regular, but showing it on a nightly basis is the biggest challenge, especially when you go through stretches of not scoring. It is a challenge for many to maintain a high level of confidence if you aren’t contributing offensively at the start of their NHL career.

I think he can be a very solid bottom-six centreman who finishes with somewhere between 9-12 goals if he’s given consistent ice time. I’m high on him and think he deserves to have a permanent spot on the team. Hopefully the coaching staff agrees.

Someone who can play 3C, when necessary, but is more valuable as a 4C. He has the speed, awareness, and offensive touch to become a reliable NHL player. He does need to become strong in the faceoff dot.

Derek Ryan, but with a higher offensive ceiling as a 3C. His shot is so good that I could see him being a regular 15+ goal guy who can kill penalties.

I think he’s got the 4C spot. As for production, if he can get 7-10 goals I’d be pretty happy. More importantly, don’t get scored on. Play reliable minutes. If I don’t notice you at all for a couple of games, that’s probably a good thing.

Star Mechanical is one of Edmonton’s biggest locally owned and operated plumbing and heating businesses. They have been working within the community for over 20 years, and many of the homes built in Edmonton over the last two decades have had their plumbing and heating systems installed by Star Mechanical.  Visit them at starmechanical.ca to schedule an appointment and let them help keep your home running smoothly.