According to the Edmonton Oilers official Twitter account, the team has reassigned both Ethan Bear and Keegan Lowe to the Bakersfield Condors for the final week of the AHL season.

With the Oilers missing the playoffs yet again, it made all kinds of sense for the organization to return both players to the Bakersfield Condors to play out the stretch. With three games left in the season and no playoffs on the horizon, the Condors are in the same position as their parent club where they will be playing out the remaining games before heading into the offseason.

With the Oilers’ season going into the gutter in the first quarter, players like Ethan Bear and Keegan Lowe were afforded the opportunity to play NHL minutes in a season where they probably weren’t expecting to. Ethan Bear, certainly, wouldn’t have been expected to play 18 NHL games this year but he did get invaluable experience that will hopefully help him move forward in his development. After being recalled several times throughout the year, Keegan Lowe was finally able to see some game action in the final two contests of the season which was his first in an Oilers jersey and certainly a proud moment for the Lowe family.

For both players, getting into NHL games signifies the realization of a lifelong dream and the hope is that this taste of NHL action will make both prospects hungrier to make the next step.