Edmonton Oilers Make More Roster Cuts, Trim Down Prospects

The Edmonton Oilers continued to trim their roster down Thursday, assigning 13 more players to their respective teams.

Edmonton assigned Ethan Bear, Ben Betker, Greg Chase, Braden Christoffer, Joseph Gambardella, Ziyat Paigin, Kyle Platzer and Shane Starrett to the Bakersfield Condors. The Oilers also released Josh Currie, Ryan Hamilton, Zach O’Brien from their professional tryouts, as well as Chad Butcher and Evan Polei from their amateur tryouts.

Edmonton Oilers

There are now 42 players left to compete for a spot on the opening night roster, including 24 forwards, 14 defencemen and four goaltenders. And though a lot of the names cut so far have been young and upcoming prospects, some of the cuts are still important ones to know.

Surprising Cuts?

Bear is one of the team’s most promising defensive prospects, and with an injury to Andrej Sekera, he was certainly someone who could step up and prove his worth. However, he didn’t stand out too much, and with a lot of blueline depth, it is better that he develops with the AHL’s Condors before heading into NHL action.

Butcher, though a standout name in Oilers’ rookie camp, still has ways to go before cracking the NHL roster. However, he is well on his way to a solid career. He had an outstanding 27 goals and 103 points through 68 games with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers last season and is emerging as one of the league’s top forwards. If he can keep it up, he will develop into a promising scorer, and could join the Oilers ranks sooner rather than later.

It was also to surprising to see Gambardella head down early. He has been flourishing as a top NCAA signee and brings a lot to the table. However, like Bear, he still has more foundation to build on before making a full-time jump to the NHL.

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Overall, the Oilers have enough depth and experienced players to fill the voids on their roster with, so it’s not a complete shock to see younger players get cut.