GAME PREVIEW presented by Rodriguez & Associates

The Condors open their 11th season in the AHL with a 3 p.m. Saturday matinee in San Jose against the Barracuda.

LIGHTS UP 

Bakersfield opens on the road for the third consecutive season and the sixth time in the AHL era. The Condors have won back-to-back season openers, both in Coachella Valley, and are 7-2-1 over the past 10 years.

NEW FACES

Of the 20 players expected to dress for Saturday’s game, 11 will make their Condors debut. Of the seven returners, only Seth Griffith, James Hamblin, Matvey Petrov, Cam Dineen, and Josh Brown spent significant time with the team, as Rhett Pitlick, Connor Clattenburg, and Matt Copponi were all late season tryouts last year.

TOMKINS TENDING

Matt Tomkins is the anticipated opening day starter between the pipes for the Condors. The 31-year old Edmonton native was originally selected by Chicago in the 2012 NHL Draft, but did not make his NHL debut until 11 years later at the age of 29 with Tampa Bay. He went 12-10-4 with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage with Syracuse (AHL) last season.

CAPTAIN GRIFF

Captain Seth Griffith enters his sixth season with the Condors as the AHL franchise leading scorer. He led the team in scoring for a fourth consecutive season a year ago, compiling 72 points in 65 games. For his AHL career, the Wallaceburg, Ontario native has 644 points in 684 regular season games.

HAMMER TIME

James Hamblin returns for his sixth season and is t-6th on the AHL franchise’s scoring list. He had a career high 45 points in 51 games with Bakersfield last season.

QUINN’S A SHOOTER

Free agent signing Quinn Hutson will make his Condors debut coming off a prolific season at Boston University. With the Terriers, the Illinois native led the team in scoring and finished ninth nationally with 50 points (23g-27a) in 38 games. After signing an ELC with the Oilers, he made his NHL debut and played two games with Edmonton.

LEPPANEN LAUNCHES

Atro Leppanan set the Finnish scoring record for a d-man last season as he led all of Liiga with 63 points in 60 games.

EUROPEAN FLAIR

Leppnan (Finland) is one of a number of European free agent signings set to debut this weekend including Viljemi Marjala (Finland) and Josh Samanski (Germany). All three led their respective teams in scoring last season. They join Roby Jarventie (Finland) as European players on the team. Jarventie had two assists in two games before a season-ending injury last year for Bakersfield.

BROTHER TANDEM

Rem and Rhett Pitlick will play on the same team for the first time professionally. Rem, the older of the two, has 138 points (57g-81a) in 166 AHL games for his career. Rhett joined the Condors on a PTO late last season and had six assists in six games, including a three-assist game on April 11.

UP NEXT

The Condors opening weekend at home comes next Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19 with Leon Draisaitl Bobblehead Giveaway, Lunchbox Giveaway, and a full team autograph session. (Click here for tickets).