The Bakersfield Condors have signed Edmonton Oilers prospect Matt Copponi to a two-year contract, the club announced Thursday.
Copponi, 22, turned pro this spring after finishing a four-year stint in the NCAA, spending his first three years with Merrimack College and his final at Boston University. Across his 132 games, he racked up 30 goals and 94 points, including six goals and 24 points in 40 games with Boston.
Drafted by the Oilers in the seventh round of the 2023 draft, Copponi played three games for the Condors in April, scoring two assists and taking five shots on goal. While he wasn’t in Oilersnation’s top 20 prospects from last summer, he impressed in his time with the Condors, as “a high-energy player who definitely shows some good skill.”
The Oilers haven’t signed Copponi to an NHL contract, and if the team hopes to retain his rights, they will need to do so before August 15th.
Copponi was quoted in an article by The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman, released Thursday, where he detailed some of the player development changes the Oilers have undergone in the last year under their new senior director of player development, Kalle Larsson.
“It’s been a really big improvement just from the help from the staff this year compared to last year because the staff is much bigger,” Copponi told Nugent-Bowman. “It’s helped me a lot in my day-to-day practice. I’ve learned little habits and little details for my game that I can improve on.”
The Condors made two other signings this week, signing brothers Rhett and Rem Pitlick to two-year and one-year contracts. Rhett, 24, just finished his career at the NCAA Minnesota State University, leading the team in scoring with 13 goals and 40 points in 39 games last season. Rem, 28, the older brother, was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the third round of the 2016 draft, playing 131 NHL games, scoring 54 points. He spent last year with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, scoring two goals and 13 points in 18 games.
