Edmonton Oilers demote two players down to the American Hockey League.

Oilers send two players down.

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HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Edmonton Oilers demote two players down to the American Hockey League.
Dom GagneCSM/Zuma

The Edmonton Oilers have sent two of their players down to the American Hockey League and some feel the move has been long overdue. 

According to an official report from the Edmonton Oilers organization the Oilers have sent down both forward Jesse Puljujarvi as well as forward Kailer Yamamoto to the American Hockey League where the two men will join the Oilers' AHL affiliate team, the Bakersfield Condors. The move was somewhat expected and in fact some have been calling for it for several days now but it's also a damning condemnation of where each man stands within the Oilers organization at this point.

20 year old Kailer Yamamoto has appeared in 12 games for the Oilers this season but he has been limited in terms of ice time, seemingly due to the lack of faith that head coach Todd McLellan has in him. Through those first 12 games of the season for Yamamoto he has managed to record just a single goal and a single assist for a total of two points, but he also has a plus minus rating of -2 on the season as well. The Oilers former first round pick in 2017 will get more time to play and develop at the AHL level but given the Oilers history of developing first round picks that likely won't inspire much confidence.

Even worse than Yamamoto's current predicament is the one surrounding Jesse Puljujarvi, a player that is starting to have the "bust" tag associated with him. Puljujarvi is also a former first round pick but he was selected 4th overall and was selected a full year earlier than Yamamoto was. Puljujarvi's development, or lack thereof, has been a major source of concern from the Edmonton Oilers fan base and with him now destined for another stint in the American Hockey League those concerns are going to be amplified. Additionally this will likely become a problem for the Oilers as there is a sense that Puljujarvi and his management may have had their fill of how the Oilers have managed his career thus far. 

It's interesting to note that there were reports earlier today that the Oilers and Bruins may be looking to make an early season trade and Puljujarvi is one of the names I would have expected to see come up in those talks. This may be completely unrelated but it may also be a way for the Oilers to give rival teams a better look at either player with more playing time in the American Hockey League.

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