The Edmonton Oilers have inked one of their pending restricted free agents, signing Patrick Russell to a one-year deal. The 25-year old Russell played for the Bakersfield Condors this season, scoring 27 points in 68 games. Though not specified, one can assume that Russell is signing a two-way contract, since he has still yet to make his NHL debut, and as such will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency next summer should he fail to play in 80 games with the Oilers in 2018-19.
Russell was born and played in Denmark for much of his junior career, before heading to Sweden and eventually making his way over to the USHL and NCAA. After playing two years for St. Cloud State the winger decided to sign his first professional contract, joining the Oilers system in spring of 2016. In two years with the Condors, Russell hasn’t been able to find the same offensive success he had in college but has still done enough to earn a new deal.
The Oilers now have nine restricted free agents left to sign this summer, two of which we looked at in closer detail here. Ryan Strome and Darnell Nurse represent some big decisions for Edmonton, but even players like Russell require quite a bit of work to get under contract.