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As it pertains to procurement, the absence of alternatives clears the mind for the modern Edmonton Oilers general manager. In the 10 years since the Oilers drafted Connor McDavid , there have been 70 rounds of drafting, meaning 70 picks for a team that kept the allotment. Edmonton used 60 selections.
Advertisement Of those 60 selections, many have been traded or allowed to leave while still developing, including John Marino , Michael Kesselring , Matej Blumel and Reid Schaefer. All general managers employed by Edmonton in these years sent away picks and prospects in an effort to win the Stanley Cup. It’s a valuable tool for contending teams with holes at the deadline, or in need of offloading huge, unwelcome contracts in mid-summer.
It can, and did, get expensive for Edmonton’s managers. It left a void in the procurement of new players for the AHL Bakersfield Condors. Each general manager involved had a different strategy, and some seasons worked out better than others.
As new GM Stan Bowman looks at what’s bubbling under, what will he do? The Chiarelli years Peter Chiarelli was in charge of the Oilers and Condors from spring 2015 to January 2019, so he was responsible for four Condors rosters in his role as Edmonton general manager. In that time, the club added 26 players who were rookies when stepping on to AHL ice. Most were NHL on contracts, but Chiarelli signed a few to AHL-only deals in order to fill out the roster and have enough players lingering in the ECHL affiliate for AHL recalls.
The organization brought a total of 10 names from the NHL Draft to the AHL in those years, led by defenceman Evan Bouchard and wingers Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto. Ironically, Bouchard played in the NHL during Chiarelli’s time with the team but had been fired before the young defender made his AHL debut in the spring of 2019. A total of 10 draft picks in four AHL seasons is a little low for the average NHL team, but Chiarelli made up for it with his aggressive work signing and trading for the rights to NCAA players.
College men counted eight additions, including Matt Benning (who had been drafted by the Boston Bruins during Chiarelli’s time there). Cooper Marody, one of two men whose playing rights were acquired by Edmonton before he turned pro after college, had the look of an NHL player before a playoff injury. Advertisement He also drafted several players (Caleb Jones, John Marino, Mike Kesselring, Vincent Desharnais ) who were in college or planned to attend an NCAA school Edmonton signed four WHL free agents (Cam Hebig and Braden Christoffer among them), a Finnish pro (Eetu Laurikainen), plus contracts to players from the OHL (Ryan Mantha) and QMJHL (Alexis Loiseau).
Most of those deals were NHL contracts. One could sum up this period by saying Edmonton’s minor-league system made up for the lack of draft picks with college men and a few stragglers from the WHL. The Holland tunnel Ken Holland took over in the spring of 2019 and was responsible for acquiring talent for the next five seasons.
He extended the idea of signing Canadian juniors and U.S. college men, but chose to do most of his work with AHL-only deals.
That decision meant the pool of available talent was far less than the rest of the league was pursuing with full-fledged NHL contracts. James Hamblin and Vincent Desharnais are two men who arrived in the NHL via the AHL contract route during Holland’s time with the team. Holland drafted five players per season in his five summers.
So far, just four have made it to the NHL, with Dylan Holloway , Philip Broberg and Raphael Lavoie also playing for Bakersfield (Blumel is the outlier, Holland didn’t sign him). Several drafted players made it to the AHL with the Condors but fell short (so far) of the NHL. NCAA free agents counted six, WHL free agents three.
Holland traded for a WHL prospect (Jayden Grubbe) who would sign an NHL deal and turn pro in Bakersfield. The most unique player signed during this time was Noah Philp, plucked from the Alberta Golden Bears (Canadian college). Compare and contrast Chiarelli’s overall procurement total (26 rookies in four years, 6.
5 per season) ranked higher than Holland’s final numbers. In his five seasons in charge of the Condors, there were 30 rookies, or six per season. Advertisement The biggest gap came in the number of undrafted players who landed NHL contracts.
Chiarelli handed them out more often (14 to 7) despite being in the position for a shorter period. Holland’s signings (Desharnais, Hamblin and Philp among them) have mostly gone on to at least some NHL success, but the Condors relied on fringe AHL players more during the Holland era than the Chiarelli period. The overall quality of the Condors suffered in those years.
Stan Bowman Bowman arrived after the draft (late July) in 2024 and it’s generally agreed his regime began with the St. Louis Blues’ offer sheets to Broberg and Holloway, followed by the trade cascade that followed. Since that time, the Condors haven’t been overwhelmed with help from the big club in the way of amateurs signing pro deals.
Bowman has tried to improve the product via pro trades and waiver claims. Bowman has added a giant defenceman (Ronnie Attard, traded for Ben Gleason), and another big defender ( Alec Regula ) was claimed on waivers and should see the lights of Bakersfield for a conditioning stint sometime in the next few weeks. Big winger Connor Clattenburg , a 2024 draft pick, was signed to an entry-level deal in December.
Bowman is adding size to the group who will play in the minors, and eventually see a recall to Edmonton. The only undersized addition has been pro winger Jacob Perreault (who cost defenceman Noel Hoefenmayer). He was struggling in the Montreal Canadiens system but has performed well (1-6-7 in nine games) with Bakersfield.
That move helped the Condors more than the Attard trade. Bowman’s future Both Chiarelli and Holland used the NCAA and WHL to procure talent, with Chiarelli signing more NHL deals and Holland adding less impressive talent by signing more AHL-only contracts. It’s early days but Bowman appears more likely to run a veteran AHL group closer to the Chiarelli model.
Advertisement How will he get there? The complete answer will have to wait through college and European signing season but there’s an interesting change emerging. The increased size is notable. A player Bowman might want to look at signing in the spring is another University of Alberta Golden Bears player.
Defenceman Marc Lajoie was signed to an amateur tryout last spring and played one game for Bakersfield in 2023-24. He was also part of rookie camp last fall, playing in three games . The pipeline from Canadian universities is badly underused and could be an advantage for Edmonton and Bakersfield.
Another option is Michigan forward Gleb Veremyev , who’s 21 and 6-foot-4, 205 pounds. He’s from New Jersey, and American kids often sign with U.S.
NHL clubs, but Veremyev would be a strong fit for the Oilers if the team is looking to increase size for next season. His teammate TJ Hughes is undersized and has cooled off recently, but has plus skill and has been mentioned as a player who is on the radar for NHL teams looking for skill. His offensive explosion for the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL in 2021-22 was remarkable and no doubt increased his profile with NHL teams.
The overall future The Condors have been a disappointment in the past couple of seasons. The few high draft picks either flew through town too quickly, or failed to launch. Holland’s procurement method involved offering AHL deals with a chance for an NHL contract if things worked out.
That’s a great system when it works (Desharnais, Hamblin) but it forced the organization to the fringes of each year’s graduating class. Bowman would do well to aim higher, and do it with some NHL contracts in mind. (Photo of Noah Philp: Sergei Belski / Imagn Images).
