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.
This year marked Savoie’s first full pro season and it was an excellent one for him, scoring 19 goals and 54 points in 66 games for the Condors. He also made his Oilers debut this year, playing in four games and notching an assist in his first period of action.
His big step forward sets him up in a position to make the Oilers team out of training camp next season, but there’s going to be lots of internal competition within the forward ranks.
Philp, meanwhile, made his return to the pro hockey ranks this year after sitting out last season. He played 55 games for the Condors, scoring 19 goals and 35 points compared to the 19 goals and 37 points in 70 games in the 2022-23 season. He increased his per game rates of goals (0.27 to .35), assists (.26 to .29) and points (.53 to .64). He also played a career high in NHL games, scoring two assists in 15 games with the Oilers this year. He is going to be waiver eligible next year.
Hamblin may have stalled out as an NHL prospect after playing 31 NHL games last year, but he had himself a strong year with the Condors, scoring 19 goals, 26 assists and 45 points in 51 games, all of which were career highs.
Dineen set the Condors franchise record for points by a defenceman this year, notching nine goals and 43 points in 59 games, narrowly ahead of another Bakersfield defenceman Connor Carrick,who had 18 goals and 41 points in 63 games. Dineen got some action in the NHL, playing four games with the club late in the season.
Kemp, 26, can’t really be considered a prospect anymore, now in his fifth season playing pro hockey. He had a solid year for the Condors, though, scoring seven goals and 12 points in 56 games.
After a few solid seasons, Rodrigue’s game took a bit of a step back this year in terms of his numbers, but he played in a career high 41 games — the most he’s played in a single season since his third season in the QMJHL, when he played 48 for the Drummondville Voltigeurs. In those games this year, he posted a 18-16-8 record, a .897 save percentage and a 3.12 goals against average.
