Brad Malone is set to break the AHL Bakersfield Condors games played record on Saturday.
Malone, 34, joined the Oilers organization ahead of the 2017-18 season, and now, years later, will play his 298th game as his club takes on the Abbotsford Canucks.
On Friday, when Bakersfield matched up against Abbotsford, he tied former Condors player and current Belleville Senators forward Josh Currie at 297 games played, with a 4-3 Bakersfield victory to follow.
Currie played for the Condors from 2015 to 2020, serving as an alternate captain during his final two years. He recorded 103 goals and 188 points across the 297 games he appeared in and has held the franchise record ever since.
However, Malone will raise the bar on Saturday, years after joining them. He started the 2017-18 season with the Oilers but was ultimately sent to the Condors for 56 games, where he recorded 13 goals and 33 points while serving as an alternate captain.
He was named Bakersfield’s captain in 2020-21, scoring 10 goals and 21 points across 26 games. The following season, he recorded a career-high in points throughout his time in the AHL, with 14 goals and 39 points throughout 52 games.
This season, Malone has recorded two goals and 14 points for the Condors but is projected to capture 32 points by the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
The Condors sit eighth in the AHL’s Pacific Division with a record of 19-12-2 with 41 points, just two points behind the Henderson Silver Knights and Colorado Eagles with fewer games played than either team. Their competitors for Saturday, the Canucks, are fifth in the Pacific with a record of 21-13-3 and 47 points.
Flames’ A.J. Greer to miss eight weeks
The Calgary Flames announced forward A.J. Greer will miss eight weeks after fracturing his foot on Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Greer left Thursday night’s contest in what appeared to be considerable pain after a collision with Blue Jackets defenceman Jake Bean, sending him feet-first into the boards. Greer was helped off the ice but received a tripping penalty on the play.
Flames head coach Ryan Huska commented on the situation and what his absence means for the team on Saturday following the team’s morning skate.
“A.J., he was the one guy on that fourth line that had some consistency to his play,” Huska said. “There was the physicality that he brought. He was an energy guy in the room for us, for sure, and he’s chipped in offensively for us. So we’ll miss him, no doubt.”
In October, Greer was welcomed incorporation to the Flames lineup when the organization claimed him off waivers from the Boston Bruins, making him an effective addition to the club’s bottom six.
This season marks just his second full season in the NHL. In 2023-24 with the Bruins, he scored five goals and 12 points throughout 61 games; with the Flames, he recorded six goals and 10 points across 47 games.
With Greer out for a considerable amount of time, Adam Ruzicka being lost to the Arizona Coyotes in waivers, and Dillon Dube’s leave of absence, the Flames will have to turn to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Calgary Wrangler, to aid in their bottom six.
Greer was initially drafted as the 39th overall selection by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2015 NHL draft. After three seasons with the club and 37 games later he was traded to the New York Islanders. A year later he found himself in another trade this time to the New Jersey Devils. With the Devils Greer made 10 appearances throughout two seasons scoring one goal and two points. He signed as a free agent with the Bruins in 2022 before heading to the Flames.
The Flames sit sixth in the Pacific Division with a record of 21-22-5 and 47 points, three points from the Seattle Kraken in fifth place. The Flames finish their six-game homestand against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday before heading to Boston to take on the Bruins on Tuesday.
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