On Monday morning, the Edmonton Oilers announced the assignment of Kailer Yamamoto to the Spokane Chiefs in the Western Hockey League.
The Oilers also recalled Brad Malone from the AHL.
In nine NHL games, Yamamoto scored no goals and three assists and logged 15:10 of game time per night. He also held an impressive 59.92 CF%. Yamamoto showed well in his nine-game cup of coffee and didn’t often look out of position, and the assignment likely has just as much to do with contract numbers as it does with his development.
By assigning him to the WHL, the 22nd overall pick in the 2017 draft won’t have the first year of his entry-level contract kick in this year.
The Oilers never put too much pressure on KY while he was up in the NHL. He didn’t play his nine games consecutively, which likely played to his benefit. It gave him a chance to hang around the club for a while. As Matt Henderson pointed out yesterday, Yamamoto was second on the team in 5v5 shots per hour with 11.3 — second only to Yohann Auvitu.
With his limited use in the games he did play, it’s clear that he is best served back in the WHL. If the Oilers were giving him consistent top-six time and he was producing at a better pace than he did, I think it’s possible we saw him stick until the 40-odd-game mark.
The Oilers recalled Malone to fill his roster spot.
It’s his second stint up in Edmonton this year, as he got a three-game stint totalling seven shots and two PIM. He’s played in only 9:24 per game, which is 10 seconds more than his career average.
Sportsnet’s Mark Spector says that Chris Kelly — who came to the Oilers on a PTO and has been practicing with the team — is expected to be signed.
Source: Edmonton Oilers, Official Twitter Account, 11/06/2017, 9:35am MST