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Oilers prospects William Nicholl, Tommy Lafrenière sign ATO’s to join Condors

Photo credit: WHL/Kamloops Blazers
By Zach Laing
Apr 8, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 8, 2026, 13:58 EDT
A pair of Edmonton Oilers prospects are taking their talents to sunny Southern California.
William Nicholl and Tommy Lafrenière have signed amateur tryouts with the Condors, the club announced Wednesday. Nicholl will wear No. 56 while Lafreniere will wear No. 54.
Both players had their seasons in the Canadian Hockey League end in recent days. Nicholl’s London Knights were eliminated in the first round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs by the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds in five games.
Nicholl, who signed an entry-level contract that will kick off next season with the Oilers last week, had a shortened season due to injury, but racked up an impressive 15 goals and 26 point in 32 games. The 2024 seventh-round pick of the Oilers added three assists in five playoff games. He’s appeared in 158 OHL games over the last four years, scoring 43 goals and 105 points, helping lead the Knights to back-to-back OHL championships and a Memorial Cup win last season.
Lafrenière’s Kamloops Blazers, meanwhile, had their season end after getting swept by the Kelowna Rockets in the first round of the WHL playoffs. Committed to the NCAA’s Western Michigan University for next season, Lafrenière’s final WHL season was nothing short of impressive, scoring 41 goals and 77 goals in 67 games, adding two tallies and three points in four playoff games. He was drafted by the Oilers in the third round of the 2025 draft. He wraps up his WHL career having scored 67 goals and 137 points in 144 games.
Both players’ impressive CHL careers have helped rocket them up the Oilers prospect rankings, and Nicholl signing an entry-level deal as a seventh-round pick could be considered a win in and of itself. Whether either play NHL games in the future, they should, at the least, be able to be depth organization contributors for the Condors.
The Condors, with six games left in their season, appear set to clinch a playoff spot in the coming week.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
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