The Edmonton Oilers have added a reinforcement to their blueline.
The team announced on Friday that defenceman Josh Brown has been recalled from the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League.
This move comes one day after Evan Bouchard was hurt late in Edmonton’s 7-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. The Oilers also lost defenceman Travis Dermott on waivers to the Wild on Friday.
With just a few minutes left in the third period and the game well out of hand, Bouchard was shoved into his own net while racing after a dump-in with Wild forward Ryan Hartman. The defenceman fell face-first into one of the posts, which was being supported by goaltender Calvin Pickard’s skate and pad. He was shaken up on the play and was in noticeable pain on the bench.
Bouchard suffered an undisclosed injury on the play that coach Kris Knoblauch described as “nothing major.” According to Tony Brar of Oilers TV, Bouchard is 50/50 to play on Saturday afternoon against the Vegas Golden Knights and will be a game-time decision.
Missing Bouchard for any extended period of time would be something new for the Oilers. The 25-year-old has suited up in all 29 of the team’s games this season and he’s played at least 81 games in each of the past three seasons. He leads Edmonton defencemen in scoring with 22 points and has logged an average of 23:39 per night.
It’ll be interesting to see how Knoblauch sets his defensive pairings if Bouchard isn’t available on Saturday. He’s played on the top pairing with Mattias Ekholm since the veteran defender was acquired from the Nashville Predators back in March of 2023. Brett Kulak has played well on his off-side, so we could see him moved up to play with Ekholm. Playing the right-handed Ty Emberson with Ekholm is an option, as well.
Josh Brown inked a three-year, $3 million contract with the Oilers in the summer but was placed on waivers following a mediocre pre-season. He has three points in 16 games with the Bakersfield Condors and leads the team with 50 penalty minutes. The 30-year-old, right-shot defenceman was called up back in November and played in three games with the Oilers. He has 293 games of NHL experience, all told.
