The Edmonton Oilers loaned forward James Hamblin back to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday morning.
The decision to recall Hamblin came amidst a flurry of injuries to Edmonton’s forward group, which has reduced them to just 12 offensive skaters.
Currently, Leon Draisaitl, Trent Frederic, Colton Dach, Mattias Janmark, and Curtis Lazar are all out. Draisaitl was in Germany last weekend receiving treatment, in the hopes of healing in time for the playoffs. Janmark is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery earlier this month.
Edmonton can still use four regular recalls from Bakersfield until the end of the regular season. Emergency recalls do not count in that total.
The Oilers continue their two-game road trip against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
Hamblin is in his sixth season in the Oilers organization. He originally joined the organization as an undrafted prospect after playing junior hockey in the Western Hockey League with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
With the Condors this year, he has a career-high of 23 goals and 37 points overall in 54 games played. He’s eight points away from his AHL career-high of 45 points, set last season.
The Edmonton native has made 41 appearances with the Oilers, split between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Across those games, he registered two goals and an assist. Hamblin is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, as his two-year extension comes to an end.
The Condors are currently fourth in the AHL’s Pacific Division with a 32-19-9-1 record this season. The top seven teams from the Pacific Division advance to the AHL playoffs, and Bakersfield currently sits eight points ahead of the eighth-place team with 11 games remaining.
The Condors last qualified for the playoffs in 2024, finishing in the preliminary round for the second year in a row. Across 13 postseason appearances in Bakersfield, Hamblin has two goals and two assists.
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