A Flame From the Past: Jordan Oesterle

Do you remember Jordan Oesterle?

Every once in a while, we take a look at a player who once played for the Calgary Flames in a series called “A Flame From the Past.” This player has to have played a significant number of games for the Flames. I’ll put every Flames’ season into a Wheel of Names, and this time, it landed on the 2023-24 season, my first season at FlamesNation. In this article, we’ll look at Jordan Oesterle.

Born in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, Oesterle played his junior hockey with the United States Hockey League’s Sioux Fall Stampede in 2010-11. In 54 games, the defenceman scored twice and picked up 15 points. Then in 10 post-season games, Oesterle scored two goals and five points.

It was a short junior career for the left-shot defenceman, as he joined Western Michigan to kick off the 2011-12 season. In his freshman season, Oesterle scored twice and finished with eight assists in 41 games. The following season, he scored three times with nine points in 38 games, before scoring twice and posting a career-best 17 points in 34 games in 2013-14.

That happened to be Oesterle’s final season of college, as he signed with the Edmonton Oilers following the end of the college season. He made his professional debut in 2013-14, scoring a goal in four regular season games with the American Hockey League’s Oklahoma City Barons. Oesterle also played a post-season game that year.

The defenceman’s first full professional season was in 2014-15, where he scored eight goals and 25 points in 65 games with the Barons. Oesterle also made his National Hockey League debut that season, picking up an assist in six games with the Oilers. The 2015 post-season saw him score a goal and four points in 10 games.

Following the 2014-15 season, the Oilers’ AHL team moved to Bakersfield, California. In 44 games with the Bakersfield Condors, Oesterle scored four goals and 25 points in 44 games. The left-shot defenceman earned a longer look in the NHL, playing 17 games with five assists. In 2016-17, Oesterle only played in two games for the playoff-bound Oilers.

Most of that season was spent with the Condors, scoring seven goals and 32 points in 44 games, a career-high in the AHL for over a decade? Why, well Oesterle departed the Oilers organization and signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. He became a regular in 2017-18, scoring five goals and 15 points in 55 games.

The following off-season, Oesterle was traded to the Arizona Coyotes alongside Marián Hossa, Vinny Hinostroza, and a pick for Andrew Campbell, Marcus Kruger, Jordan Maletta, MacKenzie Entwistle, and a 2019 fifth. Hinostroza is by far the most notable player of the bunch.

Appearing in 71 games in 2018-19, Oesterle scored six goals and 20 points, a career-high total. Then in 2019-20, the left-shot defenceman scored three goals with 13 points. That season also marked his only NHL playoff experience, scoring a goal and four points in nine games before the Coyotes were eliminated.

Oesterle played one more season with the Coyotes, scoring one goal and 11 points in 43 games in 2020-21. That off-season, he signed with the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings, scoring two goals and eight points in 45 games. The following season, Oesterle scored twice and picked up nine assists in 52 games.

After six consecutive seasons of playing just NHL hockey, Oesterle returned to the AHL after joining the Flames’ organization for the 2023-24 season. He still got a look with the Flames, picking up two assists in 22 games, but he played 30 games with the Calgary Wranglers where he had two goals and 19 points. He added an assist in six AHL playoff games, his first action in the AHL playoffs since 2014-15.

Oesterle departed the Flames organization, signing with the Boston Bruins that off-season. The defenceman amassed 22 games with the Original Six team, scoring once and picking up six points. In the AHL, Oesterle scored three goals and eight points in nine games, but was claimed off waivers by the Nashville Predators around the trade deadline.

He finished his season with the Tennessee-based team, scoring three goals and four points in 15 games, giving him four goals and 10 points in 37 games. Oesterle remained in the Predators organization for the 2025-26 season, playing just one game toward the end of the season as the Predators were in the post-season hunt.

Most of Oesterle’s 2025-26 season was spent with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, where he set a new career-best with 14 goals and 46 points in 69 games. Unfortunately for the Admirals, they were recently eliminated by the Manitoba Moose, falling 2-1 in the best of three. In that series, Oesterle had two assists.