The Edmonton Oilers trimmed their training camp roster to 39 players Friday, placing defencemen Josh Brown and Riley Stillman and forward Eduards Tralmaks on waivers as part of a 15-player cutdown, according to Oilersnation and BVM Sports.
The moves leave Edmonton working toward a cap-compliant, 23-man opening-night roster, which must be submitted to the NHL by 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 28, a day before the Oilers open the season at home against the Vancouver Canucks.
Seven other players were loaned to the American Hockey League’s Bakersfield Condors: forwards Connor Clattenburg, Quinn Hutson, Viljami Marjala, Aku Raty and William Nicholl, defenceman Tomas Cibulka and goaltender Connor Ungar, Oilonwhyte reported. Forward Seth Griffith was released from his professional tryout, and defencemen Rudolfs Berzkalns and Andrew Robinson, along with forwards Caden Harvey and David Lewandowski, were returned to their junior clubs.
Several of Friday’s cuts were unexpected. General manager Stan Bowman had earlier named Hutson, Raty and Tralmaks among the prospects with the best chance to crack the opening-night lineup, Oilonwhyte reported, while Clattenburg had impressed through the preseason and Ungar is regarded as the organization’s top goaltending prospect. Brown and Stillman had been expected to compete for a sixth or seventh defence job.
The decision to move on from Brown and Stillman fits a pattern under head coach Mike Babcock, who has emphasized speed and puck-moving ability on the back end since taking over the bench. A Yahoo News Canada report said that while both defencemen are steady, physical presences at the American Hockey League level, neither offers the skating or quick decision-making Babcock’s system requires.
Edmonton’s moves were part of a leaguewide scramble Friday, when more than 50 NHL players were placed on waivers, according to Daily Faceoff and HockeyBuzz. Clubs must place any player who needs to clear waivers for a minor-league assignment on the wire a day ahead of the roster deadline to ensure the move clears in time. Utah Mammoth forward Brandon Tanev was among the most notable names on Friday’s list. A day earlier, the Vancouver Canucks claimed goaltender Leevi Merilainen off waivers.
