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Top 10 Oilers stories of 2025: #9 — Black aces arrive for playoff push
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Photo credit: Mike Zitek/Coachella Valley Firebirds
Zach Laing
Dec 25, 2025, 15:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 24, 2025, 18:36 EST
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Welcome to Oilersnation’s top 10 stories of the year, where we count down the most-read stories you, the reader, clicked on in 2025. 
Who would’ve thought people would be so excited about the Black Aces arriving?
Not me, that’s for sure, but you, the readers, were excited to hear about the group that arrived for the Edmonton Oilers.
The arrivals came in late April from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. The group of six who hit the ice in Edmonton were Matt Savoie, Noah Philp and James Hamblin up front, Cam Dineen and Phil Kemp on the blue line, and Olivier Rodrigue in the crease.
Here’s some of what I wrote about their arrival:
As the Oilers got back into their first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings Friday night, their Black Aces hit the ice in Edmonton.
Oilers radio man Bob Stauffer reported Saturday that three forwards, two defencemen, and a goaltender took to the ice at the Downtown Community Arena.
The forwards were prospects Matt Savoie, Noah Philp and James Hamblin, the blueliners Cam Dineen and Phil Kemp, while Olivier Rodrigue was the lone goaltender there. All were with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors this year, where the team posted a 32-30-7-3 record, good enough for 74 points and a tie for the final playoff spot they lost due to a tiebreaker.
It’s interesting to look back at where all these players are now. Savoie and Philp are both with the Oilers, with the former scoring seven goals and 12 points in 38 games this season, and the latter two goals and three points in 15 games, missing some time due to injury this season. Hamlin remains with the Condors, scoring seven goals and nine points in 22 games
Dineen has remained with the Condors, scoring two goals and seven points in 14 games, while Kemp left the organization in free agency this summer, signing a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 26-year-old, drafted by the Oilers in the seventh round of the 2017 draft, was named the captain of the Penguins’ AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, scoring two goals and seven points in 30 games.
Rodrigue, meanwhile, also left the Oilers organization. He had signed with the KHL’s Barys Astana this summer, but suffered an injury during training and the two sides mutally agreed to terminate his contract. He’s yet to lace up the skates anywhere else this season.

Top 10 stories of 2025

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, senior columnist, 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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