Edmonton Oilers Add Pair Of High-flying Condors To Taxi Squad

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Cult of Hockey

Published Apr 28, 2024 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 4 minute read

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Oilers Philip Broberg battles against Los Angeles Kings in NHL playoff action 12 months ago. Photo by Shaughn Butts /Postmedia

After an extended run of solid play to qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs, Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate Bakersfield Condors were quickly eliminated. They dropped their best-of-three opening round series against Ontario Reign (L.A. Kings affiliate) in 2 straight games, 5-1 and 3-1.

While disappointing, the quick defeat opened the door for a pair of Condors to be recalled by the big club, where they will join an expanding taxi squad.

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🔁 #Oilers roster moves 🔁

🔹 Defenceman Philip Broberg has been recalled from the @Condors.
🔸 Goaltender Jack Campbell has also been recalled from Bakersfield.#LetsGoOilers

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 29, 2024

The Oilers made it official Sunday evening that they’ve recalled defender Philip Broberg and goaltender Jack Campbell.

The active roster thus swells to 26 players, with the substitutes consisting of 3 forwards (currently Sam Gagner, Connor Brown and Carrick), 2 defenders (Troy Stecher and Broberg) and 1 ‘tender (Campbell). Essentially, a layer of redundancy at all 6 positions.

Philip Broberg

Broberg started the season with the big club, but found himself the odd man out in Edmonton pretty much the moment Knoblauch and Paul Coffey took the bench from predecessors Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson. The new regime immediately turned the page on Woodcroft’s preference for 11F + 7D and went strictly with the orthodox 12 + 6.

After hanging around the fringes for a few weeks, Broberg was correctly reassigned to Bakersfield where he assumed the mantle, and the minutes, of the #1 defenceman. In 49 games he posted excellent boxcars of 5-33-38, +11. All of his goals and half of his points came at even strength, while he also picked up 16 points on the powerplay and 3 on the penalty kill, reflective of his heavy usage in all situations.

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Reasonable to expect that Saturday night’s loss to the Reign is apt to be Broberg’s last minor league game for the foreseeable future. He excelled at that level over parts of 3 seasons, posting regular season stats of 87 GP, 11-54-65, +23. He’s now reaching the end of his Entry Level Contract and with it, his exemption from NHL waivers. Meaning he’s almost certain to get an extended look at the big-league level next season right from the get-go.

In the meantime, he’s a heartbeat away from the third pairing. He got a pair of NHL games in at the very end of the season and performed pretty well, even as the Oilers didn’t in those particular games. He is very much in game shape and ready to roll if the need arises.

Still just 22, Broberg had 81 games of NHL experience plus another 10 playoff games. He may still be raw, but he’s no rookie.

Jack Campbell

Soup has been simmering in the AHL since losing his job with the Oilers in early November. He’d played just 5 games, struggled (1-4-0, 4.50, .873), but he was far from the only Oiler who did during that ugly opening month. He was, however, the one guy who paid the price by being dropped from the team.

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Thrust directly into the starting role in Bakersfield he had 3 brutal games (0-3-0, 4.36, .819) before the brass figured things out and began to split the role between Campbell and up-and-comer Olivier Rodrigue. Soon thereafter, Campbell rediscovered his form, and began posting solid numbers. In his 30 remaining games, he went 18-10-1, 2.46, .925.

All the while, he was locked out of a return to the NHL, largely due to the fine play of his replacement, Calvin Pickard. Another huge roadblock was the fact that in order to recall Campbell the Oilers would have had to waive Pickard and another player to make the salary cap work. It was never in the cards; on the other hand, a recall for the playoffs always seemed highly probable. Now, it’s happened.

With 3 seasons remaining on the 5-year, $25 million contract he signed in July of 2022, Campbell’s future remains up in the air. He is very much a buyout candidate. But that’s a decision for June; right now, the question is, can he help the team in a reserve role? The fact that he was recalled ahead of the promising Rodrigue (19-12-5, 2.73, .916) tells us the organization thinks so.

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Rodrigue has the higher long-term upside and the far more team-friendly contract, but the fact remains that he has zero NHL experience, never mind playoff exposure. Campbell has gone 7-8, 2.28, .920 in 18 Stanley Cup playoff games, including an impressive .961 in 4 relief appearances for the Oilers last spring. Not surprising at all that Ken Holland would choose the more experienced man to be his emergency stopper come playoff time.