The Edmonton Oilers, who have struggled as of late and are desperate for a boost in their lineup, have recalled Kailer Yamamoto and William Lagesson from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
Yamamoto was the Oilers' first-round pick in 2017, 22nd overall. Since then, he has been unable to find himself a permanent spot in the NHL, and has only appeared in 26 NHL games, where he has scored one goal and four points. The majority of his professional career has been spent with Bakersfield, where he has been a key offensive weapon. He sits fourth on the Condors in scoring this season with 8 goals and 16 points. The biggest concern surrounding Yamamoto is his size, he is just 5-foot-8, 153 pounds, but don't let that fool you, he has the speed and playmaking abilities to be a real star in the NHL one day. He will likely start on the wing with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in his return to the NHL.
The Oilers have also recalled William Lagesson from the AHL. Lagesson was selected 91st overall by the OIlers in 2014, but has yet to play a game in the NHL. Following his draft year, he spent two seasons with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. After his stint playing college hockey, Lagesson returned home to Sweden and joined Djurgardens of the Swedish Hockey League for the 2017-18 season, where he recorded 13 points in 49 games. He joined the Condors at the start of the 2018-19 season. In 88 AHL games, he has 11 goals and 35 points. He is a physical defencemen with great awareness and is capable of logging heavy minutes. We'll likely see him make his NHL debut on Edmonton's third defensive pairing.
Yamamoto and Lagesson are far from being the solution to Edmonton's problems, but they might be able to provide enough of a spark to get the Oilers out of this slump and back into the playoff picture.
In other Oilers news, Brandon Manning and Markus Granlund have cleared waivers and have been assigned to Bakersfield.
Edmonton is 2-7-1 in their last 10 games.
-
