The Edmonton Oilers have returned forward James Hamblin to the American Hockey League's Bakersfield Condors following a brief emergency recall that saw the 26-year-old travel with the team but remain on the bench.
Hamblin was called up Tuesday on an emergency basis ahead of Edmonton's matchup against the Utah Mammoth, though he did not see action in the Oilers' 5-2 victory. The team sent him back to Bakersfield Wednesday morning as they continue managing a depleted forward corps.
The recall came as Edmonton deals with a mounting injury crisis that has left them with just 12 healthy offensive players. Star centre Leon Draisaitl remains out after seeking treatment in Germany last weekend, while Trent Frederic, Colton Dach, Mattias Janmark, and Curtis Lazar are also sidelined.
Janmark's season is over following surgery earlier this month, adding to the team's depth concerns as they push toward the playoffs.
Condors Having Strong Season
The Edmonton native is enjoying his most productive AHL campaign, recording a career-high 23 goals and 37 points across 54 games with Bakersfield. He sits just eight points shy of his AHL career-high of 45 points, established last season.
Hamblin, who joined the Oilers organization as an undrafted free agent after starring with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League, has appeared in 41 NHL games across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, tallying two goals and one assist.
The forward is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer when his two-year contract extension expires.
Bakersfield currently holds fourth place in the AHL's Pacific Division with a 32-19-9-1 record, sitting comfortably eight points ahead of the eighth-place team with 11 games remaining in the regular season. The top seven teams advance to the AHL playoffs.
Edmonton still has four regular recalls available from their farm team before the regular season concludes. Emergency recalls, like Hamblin's brief stint, do not count against that total.
The Oilers continue their road swing Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights as they look to solidify their playoff positioning despite ongoing injury challenges.
Information for this article was sourced from OilersNation.
