Curtis Hamilton struggled through a tough rookie season in the AHL before being sidelined by injury.
The Oklahoma City Barons had to submit their “Clear Day” roster to the AHL yesterday – the list of players eligible for participation in the post-season. The list was announced this morning and features some interesting omissions, with rookie professional Curtis Hamilton headlining the list of those who won’t be playing. Hamilton, a second round pick of the Oilers back in 2010, was expected to have an offensive impact this season after an 82-point campaign in the WHL last year, but has struggled this season along with fellow rookie pro Tyler Pitlick. Pitlick will play in the post-season; Hamilton hasn’t played since being hurt in a Feb. 22 game against Texas. While Hamilton’s place on the clear day roster wasn’t guaranteed in any event, the knee injury represented a decisive blow to his playoff chances.
By position, here are the players who will play for Oklahoma in the playoffs.
Goal: Yann Danis, David Leneveu
Defense: Taylor Chorney, Bryan Helmer, Alex Plante, Dan Ringwald, Bryan Rodney, Colten Teubert, Dylan Yeo
Forwards: Mark Arcobello, Philippe Cornet, Triston Grant, Josh Green, Teemu Hartikainen, Ryan Keller, Anton Lander, Linus Omark, Magnus Paajarvi, Tyler Pitlick, Hunter Tremblay, Antti Tyrvainen, Chris Vandevelde
Aside from Hamilton, others not listed above include veteran defenseman Kevin Montgomery, rough-and-tumble rearguard Kirill Tulupov, and prospect Tanner House, an undrafted collegiate player the Oilers signed last season. The organization took its time signing Montgomery in the off-season after getting him from Colorado in the Shawn Belle trade, and then signed him to an AHL-only contract; it’s clear they still don’t feel strongly about him given that recent -ECHL’ers Yeo and Ringwald are both above him on the depth chart. For Tulupov and House, this is a good indicator of their respective futures with the Oilers organization.
An interesting inclusion to note is that of Linus Omark, who it would appear hasn’t seen his last stint in the AHL this season. Fans of the Tre Kronor line might still get a chance to see it.
Neal Livingston at the Copper and Blue points out that there is some room to maneuver for those not included on the “Clear Day” list:
The key here being that the Barons will need to widdle down the lineup to a manageable 22 players. Does this mean the likes of Kirill Tulupov or Curtis Hamilton will be on the outside looking in? Yes, but with a few reservations. The “in house” list of players can remain as a part of the team, and can be inserted based on any injury. From the flu to a broken bone, anyone deemed unhealthy to skate immediately frees up a roster spot.
The other bit of information not to overlook is junior and college players that sign ATO’s and are eligible for the AHL final leg once their junior/college seasons are over. Kyle Bigos, for one, would be a potentially decent fit in a healthy lineup where Kirill Tulupov doesn’t make the 22-man cut.
So, this isn’t a final list, but it does give a candid view of what the Oilers think of certain prospects.
Update: A previous version of this post, while containing no factual error, failed to detail the extent of Hamilton’s knee injury. This omission left the impression that performance, rather than health, was the primary factor in Hamilton’s omission from the Barons’ post-season roster, an impression that was unfair to the player. I apologize to readers for the mistake.
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