Oilers make most unexpected move yet of the summer and it has Mike Babcock written all over it

Josh Samanski looked headed for an Oilers roster spot. Mike Babcock just changed that picture by sending the young center back to Bakersfield.

Edmonton loaned Samanski to the AHL's Bakersfield Condors on Monday, a surprising turn for a player widely projected to occupy a bottom-six center role this season.

Samanski entered camp with legitimate NHL momentum. He played 24 games for Edmonton last season, recording 2 goals and 2 assists after producing 31 points in 45 AHL games. NHL

The expectation wasn't coming from nowhere. NHL.com's recent Oilers season preview projected Samanski as Edmonton's fourth-line center, while Daily Faceoff also had him positioned for that job entering camp. NHL

But Babcock never treated the depth chart as settled. Samanski was already skating as an extra at Friday's practice, with Trent Frederic at third-line center and Colton Dach occupying the fourth-line spot. OilersNation

That's what makes Monday's move so revealing. Edmonton isn't protecting a player's projected role simply because he appeared to have an inside track when camp opened.

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Mike Babcock makes Samanski earn his way back

This has the fingerprints of an old-school Babcock camp. Reputation and preseason projections don't guarantee a stall in the NHL locker room. The roster has to be won.

Samanski had a real opportunity to force the issue. He played 17:45 in Edmonton's 2-1 preseason win over Vancouver and finished with a +1 rating, but that wasn't enough to secure his place. Marqueur.com

The bigger twist is Edmonton's situation down the middle. Jason Dickinson has suffered an injury setback, creating even more reason to believe Samanski could stick around. Instead, Babcock went another direction. OilersNation

Owen Michaels has pushed into the conversation, while Dach has received center reps and Frederic has moved into the middle. Suddenly, Samanski is chasing them from Bakersfield rather than preparing for opening night in Edmonton.

That doesn't mean his NHL opportunity has disappeared. It means the Oilers have made the standard unmistakable before the season even starts.

For Samanski, the assignment is simple now: dominate his minutes with the Condors and force Babcock to reconsider. For everybody else in Edmonton's bottom six, the message is just as clear. Nobody gets handed the job.

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