Edmonton Oilers farm team signs 4 intriguing prospects

The Edmonton Oilers American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate team, the Bakersfield Condors have been quite inactive so far this off-season but that all changed Monday as they announced the signing of four players. The club signed forwards Matt Brown and Trevor Janicke, as well as defensemen Mats Lindgren and Luke Prokop.

Since the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, the club has added forwards Rhett and Rem Pitlick, as well as defender, Mason Millman. Combined with the players already on the roster, this leaves many spots to be filled by Oilers prospects on NHL deals, a welcomed revelation.

The Oilers farm team struggled last year to make the playoffs sporting a record of 32-30-7 and between the additions brought in by the NHL team adding Viljami Marjala and Josh Samanski amongst others, the Condors should find themselves in a more competitive spot.

Condors make four signings

Matt Brown is a left-handed winger capable of playing the right or left side. He is now 26 years old, since turning pro in 2023 has mainly played in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and has been productive there potting 32 goals and 50 assists for 82 points in 92 games with the Reading Royals. In addition to his ECHL experience, he has played 19 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, netting himself two assists.

Trevor Janicke, is a right-shot winger capable of playing center when called upon and a former Fifth Round pick in 2019 by the Anaheim Ducks. He is 24, after five years with the University of Notre Dame, he joined the Calgary Wranglers AHL club for the 2024-25 campaign. He split his time playing 15 games with them last season (recording one assist) while also playing with the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL. There he scored 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 30 games.

Mats Lindgren, is a left-handed defenseman who was drafted in the Fourth Round at the 2022 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. The 20 year old wrapped up his junior career in 2024, after playing over 200 games in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Kamloops Blazers and Red Deer Rebels. He played last year in the Pittsburgh Penguins farm system on an AHL deal with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, playing seven games with them and 56 games with their ECHL affiliate the Wheeling Nailers. There, Lindgren notched seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points.

Luke Prokop is a large 6'6 220lbs right-handed defenseman, he made headlines in 2021 after coming out as gay. He was drafted in the Third Round, 73rd Overall by the Nashville Predators in 2020 and was a standout in the WHL, playing over 250 games split with the Calgary Hitmen, Edmonton Oil Kings, and Seattle Thunderbirds. He was a major part of both the Oil Kings and Thunderbirds WHL championships in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

He turned pro in 2023 with the Predators affiliate system, totaling 40 games with the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) and 55 games with the Atlanta Gladiators. He was left unqualified as a free agent by the Predators this off-season and will now look to play a permanent role with the Condors.

The two forwards seem more like depth additions, likely to play ECHL roles but could come up and play minutes with the Condors if need be. However, both players on defense seem like strategic pieces to hopefully develop within the system.

Prokop has seen positive movements the past two years, playing all 31 games with the Admirals this year after mainly sticking with the Gladiators in the East Coast league. Lindgren has shown promise in his short career as a puck-mover on defense and should be able to provide some depth scoring at either of the ECHL or AHL level and if capable of proving themselves, it seems possible either one could earn their way into an NHL deal down the road.