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January 20, 2023 by Ryan Lotsberg
The Edmonton Oilers announced that they have recalled Dylan Holloway from the Bakersfield Condors. James Hamblin has been loaned to the Condors in a corresponding move.
Holloway had one point in fourteen games with the Oilers before his injury. He sustained a knee injury during head coach Kris Knoblauch’s first game behind the Oilers bench. He slid awkwardly into the boards during the second period of the game against the New York Islanders on November 13, 2023.
Holloway got four points in four games for the Condors. Interestingly, Holloway was playing centre on a line with Raphael Lavoie and Lane Pederson during those four games. His first game back in action with the Condors was on January 12, which was the day before Ryan McLeod missed a game due to illness. McLeod had been playing third line centre before being moved up to left wing on the second line with Leon Draisaitl and Warren Foegele at the start of the current winning streak.
It seems that the idea was to try Holloway at centre in Bakersfield to get an idea of how he might fare at centre in the NHL. McLeod was thriving on the wing, which created a hole at centre. Evander Kane slid up to the second line in McLeod’s absence against the Montreal Canadiens last Saturday, and Kane has been there ever since. McLeod is back centering the third line with Mattias Janmark and Derek Ryan.
We will have to wait to see Holloway playing third line centre. Hamblin was the only player on the roster that did not require waivers to be sent down to Bakersfield, but he had been playing fourth line centre. Lo and behold, Holloway will be centering a fourth line featuring Sam Gagner and Connor Brown.
I love the idea of Gagner and Holloway together, even if it’s only for a short time. Gagner doesn’t have the boots that he used to have, but he has the IQ and the hands to still be able to produce. He has nine points in nineteen games this season as a 34-year old coming off double hip surgery. Holloway and Brown can hunt down pucks. Gagner can make plays. Holloway and Brown have shown flashes of offensive talent at different times, but not yet this season in the NHL. Maybe Gagner can get Holloway and Brown on the board.
Holloway was pretty good at centre during his short stint in Bakersfield by all accounts. Four points in four games would suggest that is true. We have to remember that one of his goals was a powerplay goal, but the point stands that the line was making things happen out there.
Holloway has played centre at lower levels. I feel that playing centre will give Holloway more opportunities to have the puck on his stick with speed. The tendency is for NHL teams to shift younger players to the wing because there is less responsibility at that position. I think Holloway’s speed is too much of an asset to have him stuck on the wall in his own zone and to have him trailing the rush. We’ll have to see how he fares in the circle. I anticipate that there will be a learning curve in that department. I think playing Holloway at centre is certainly worth a look.
Holloway will make his return tonight in Calgary as the Oilers look to extend their franchise record winning streak to thirteen games when they take on the Calgary Flames.
