This in from the Bakersfield Condors, news that they have demoted Connor Ungar, the hottest goalie prospect in the Oilers organization, to the ECHL.
Said Condors spokesperson Ryan Holt: “Will get ample playing time. Condors rolling with Tomkins & Pickard into a four-game road trip.”
And the Cult of Hockey’s Kurt Leavins: “Not everyone will be thrilled with this. But remember: If one of the Oilers top 2 guys gets hurt, Pickard is next up. Period.”
And Edmonton hockey reporter Preston Hodgkinson: “Can’t help but think this is the wrong move for Ungar. Here’s a 24-year-old prospect coming up and absolutely owning his opportunity with a 9-2-1 record and .926 SV%, and he gets demoted? Would rather see a guy like Ungar continue to develop in the AHL.”
goalies
My take
1. I can see the Condors moving out a goalie to make way for Pickard. That makes sense. But why Ungar? Why not veteran 31-year-old Matt Tomkins?
Yes, Ungar has cooled off a bit from his red hot start to the season, but there’s still a non-zero chance that if things go poorly enough with Edmonton’s other goalies this year that Ungar might be part of a ‘Hail Mary’ attempt to rectify things. Should he not be playing at the highest level of competition in case that were to come to pass?
And looking ahead to next season, should his development not be the organizational priority over Tomkins’ development.
2. I could see if Bakersfield wanted to give pretty much all its games to get the rust off of Pickard, who has been sitting for almost two months, that it might be a good idea for Ungar to get steady starts in the ECHL. But AHL teams tend to play many back-to-back games, including two sets of them this week, where two goalies are needed in any case.
3. Tristan Jarry struggled after coming coming back from injury in January. But the Oilers invested heavily in him, moving out goalie Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak. Connor Ingram has also trended down.
Chances are one of those two goalies will start to play better hockey behind a defence led again by coach Paul Coffey. But I still can’t see how it would not have been preferable to keep Ungar in Bakersfield and to see how he plays as compared to Pickard.
If Ungar got hot again, and Pickard stayed cold in Bako, could not Edmonton’s next move in case of injury or total goalie meltdown be calling up Ungar over Pickard? That option, essentiallly, has now been taken off the table.
At the Cult of Hockey
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