Breaking: Two new Oilers will begin playing this season.

The Bakersfield Condors, the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers, have announced that they’ve signed Ryan Mantha and Joe Bambardella to amateur try-out contracts for the remainder of the 2016-17 season. Both players signed entry level contracts with the Oilers in March and will now begin their pro careers in the AHL. 

Mantha, a hulking 6’5”, 225 lb defenceman is a native of Clarkstron, MI who put up 108 points over 182 games during his career in the OHL with the Niagara Ice Dogs. Originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the 4th round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Mantha never signed with the Rangers but a stellar 58 point season in 65 games this season put him on the Oilers radar.

As for Gambardella, he’s a 24-year old forward who led the UMass-Lowell River Hawks of the NCAA’s Hockey East with a career-high 52 points in 41 games this season. He was also awarded the Walter Brown Award as New England’s best American-born collegiate hockey player and was named to the Hockey East All-Tournament Team.

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