Bakersfield Condors: 2026 Off-Season/Free Agency HUB
Bakersfield Condors
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Written by: Mike Griffith, for InsideAHLHockey.com
@MikeGriffith54 on Twitter/X
The playoff run was short for the Bakersfield Condors (a first-round loss to Tucson) but there were plenty of positives in the past season.
While fans were disappointed in the quick playoff exit, Edmonton Oilers brass were happy with the coaching and signed the entire staff - head coach Colin Chaulk, associate coach Keith McCambridge, assistant coach Adam Krug and goaltending coach Kelly Guard - to multi-year extensions.
The team set a franchise record for home wins (25), Isaac Howard and Quinn Hutson were named to the AHL All-Rookie team, and rookies Howard, Josh Samanski, Hutson, Connor Clattenburg and Roby Jarventie were among those spending time with the Edmonton Oilers.
Much of the 25-26 edition of the Condors will be back, led by leading scorer (67 points in 71 games) and captain Seth Griffith, who inked a new two-year AHL deal before the season ended.
As for losses, the biggest is likely to be James Hamblin, who has played his entire pro career in the Oilers organization with 282 games (172 points) with the Condors.
He was offered an AHL contract but is expected to sign elsewhere. Also, veteran defenseman Cam Dineen (176 games over the past four seasons) and forward Jarventie (47 points in 61 games last season) are moving on.
Defensively, there could be a bevy of returners barring any trades by the Oilers.
First-year AHL players Arto Leppanen (38 points in 53 games) and Damien Carfagna (a team-high plus 18) are among those returning. Veteran Riley Stillman (51 games) and Josh Brown (57 games) are heading into their second year of NHL two-way contracts along with Alex Regula (20 games)
As for goaltending, veteran Matt Tomkins along with Connor Ungar, Samuel Jonsson and Nathaniel Day are all under contract.
