\u2018That\u2019s what\u2019s going to get me to the next level\u2019: Oilers prospect continuing to make noise with two fights in AHL game<\/p>\n
Connor Clattenburg<\/a> isn\u2019t going to win any scoring titles anytime soon. Heck, he might not score more than five goals in a season, but he doesn\u2019t need to.<\/p>\n His brand of hockey isn\u2019t to go out and make his mark on the score sheet by putting up points, but rather by being somebody the Edmonton Oilers haven\u2019t had for a long time: a pest.<\/p>\n Such was the case on Saturday night as Clattenburg, playing for Edmonton\u2019s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, found himself in three \u2014 technically two \u2014 fights, spending the night as a burr in the saddle of the Coachella Valley Firebirds.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/zjlaing\/status\/1990841651032699367<\/p>\n For the 160th overall pick from the 2024 draft<\/a> \u2014 who has a goal, an assist, nine shots, and 59 penalty minutes in 14 AHL games \u2014 this type of play is what\u2019s going to get him noticed by the NHL club.<\/p>\n \u201cI had the refs come up to me and told me to take a step back, but I mean, it\u2019s all part of the game and that\u2019s what\u2019s going to get me to the next level,\u201d he said after the game. \u201cSo if they want to toss me for doing that stuff, then go ahead. I\u2019m going to keep playing that way. Nothing\u2019s going to stop me.\u201d<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t just the fights, either. It was the hits.<\/p>\n On his first shift of the night, he laid a massive hit on a Firebirds defenceman that folded him like a deck of cards as the home Condors crowd roared. And on his second shift, it was the first fight of the night.<\/p>\n Ian McKinnon hopped over the Firebirds\u2019 bench and headed right for Clattenburg. While neither got many lumps in, as they fell to the ice, McKinnon stood overtop of him with the refs between, clearly having some choice words.<\/p>\n Early in the second period, he got in on the forecheck once again, folding another Firebirds defenceman, as one of their forwards, John Hayden, came in dropping the gloves. This was the \u201cfight that wasn\u2019t technically a fight,\u201d as both Hayden was handed a double-minor penalty for roughing, while Clattenburg got a roughing call of his own.<\/p>\n Partway through that frame, however, is when fight number two came his way. He got in on the forecheck, finishing a check on a defenceman as the Firebirds headed up the ice. Clattenburg<\/a> was right here in pursuit, tracking the puck carrier all the way into the Condors\u2019 end.<\/p>\n With the Firebirds struggling to get anything set up, one of their defenceman fired the puck around the boards, and as it whipped around heading to the other side of the ice, Clattenburg was there, laying a hit on David Goyette. As the referee\u2019s hand shot up to call an elbowing penalty, so too did Goyette, shooting up from the ice and dropping his gloves, something he likely regretted as Clattenburg \u2014 with one glove still on \u2014 fed him his lunch.<\/p>\n Condors head coach Colin Chaulk was pleased with what he saw, especially considering his club won the game 6-3.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Copponi, Clattenburg, D\u2019Amato line I thought really, really set the tone coming out and being physical because you need a mix of that,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think our skilled guys can grow that physical and grit play, and our physical guys can also play hockey too, and we want them to do that. I think there was a good mix of that tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n While Clattenburg\u2019s night ended with game misconduct with over three minutes left and 26 penalty minutes, he\u2019s\u00a0showing he can do more than\u00a0just be physical. He moves well for a 6-foot-2, 205-pound. tough guy whose motor is always running. He could get up and down the ice with ease in thanks to a big stride, and put himself in the right spots Saturday night.<\/p>\n Offensively, there\u2019s likely more work to be done, but in the third period, he whiffed on a one-timer after a scrambly Matt Copponi takeaway. His next shift, he got another chance. However, after another offensive zone takeaway, he floated to open space, getting all of a one-timer that found its way to the net.<\/p>\n But diehards who have followed the pre-season Oilers over the last two years have seen this from Clattenburg<\/a> already. A physical presence. A fearless style of play that gets under the opposition\u2019s skin as he teeters on the line of taking things too far.<\/p>\n Toeing that line will undoubtedly be key for him if he wants to take the jump to the next level, so will the development of his game. Signs are there for it being the case, as in his brief three-game pre-season stint this year, the Oilers controlled 77.4 percent of the expected goal share, going up 1-0 in five-on-five goals.<\/p>\n Time will tell what will come of Clattenburg, but the winger is certainly making his presence felt.<\/p>\n Zach Laing is Oilersnation\u2019s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network\u2019s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report<\/a>. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing<\/a>, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365