ABBOTSFORD — The Bakersfield Condors’ start to the 2024-25 season has been a mixed bag of results, best characterized by their weekend series against the Abbotsford Canucks.

While the Condors and Canucks shared the two-game set, Bakersfield took the first match with a score of 3-1 and Abbotsford took second place with a score of 4-2. As with any farm team whose parent club is in ‘win now’ mode, the Condors haven’t always had the players to set them apart from the rest of the Pacific Division.

But these tides are slowly changing. This weekend, the Condors received significant contributions from a new group of top players, including a 2022 ninth-round draft pick. Matthew Savoie And Noah PhilipReturning to the AHL after his first three NHL games with the Oilers.

Consistency is the name of the game for Savoie

Matthew Savoie may have only started 13 games in his Oilers/Condors career, but you wouldn’t know it from his confidence on the ice. since purchase Ryan McLeod trade In July, the former 2022 ninth overall pick is adjusting well to AHL play and moving toward his NHL dream.

The move from Buffalo to Edmonton hasn’t changed the 20-year-old’s mindset about his game. “We’re trying to get better every day and keep working to build a big club,” Savoie told Oilersnation on Saturday. “But we’ve got a really good team here that likes to push each other. So it’s been really good.”

Savoie’s 2023-24 season has been as chaotic as it gets, jumping from league to league and team to team. Not many players can say they went to the World Juniors, played for two WHL teams (including a Memorial Cup finalist), and pitched in both the NHL and AHL in one year. Being one of the NHL’s top prospects often comes at the cost of a more stable program

The ability to work on his craft under the auspices of a single organization is something Savoie does not take for granted. That consistency certainly helped in his first season in professional hockey. Savoie is currently second in the Condors’ first 11 games, including a goal and assist at Abbotsford on Sunday.