Keith Gretzky paused last Friday to think about when he had last been at Memorial Coliseum.
鈥淚 would say it was 25 years ago,鈥 he said, which makes sense since his brother, Brent, captained the Komets in the United Hockey League then.
Of course, another of the Gretzky brothers, Wayne, is so revered for his stardom in the NHL that he鈥檚 known simply as 鈥淭he Great One.鈥
Keith Gretzky played against the Komets in the International Hockey League and coached against them in the UHL, but now he鈥檚 a pivotal cog in the Komets鈥 chances of success, as they鈥檙e the Double-A affiliate of the NHL鈥檚 Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky is the assistant general manager of the Oilers and general manager of the American Hockey League鈥檚 Bakersfield Condors.
The Komets and Oilers have been affiliated since the summer of 2022. While the Komets have made no secret of their satisfaction with the Oilers 鈥 especially in the level of talent that鈥檚 been sent to the Coliseum 鈥 Gretzky said it鈥檚 been a strong relationship from the other side, too.
The Condors are coached by Colin Chaulk, who captained the Komets to five playoff championships, and so far this season three players have seen time with the Komets and the Condors 鈥 defenseman Connor Corcoran, defenseman Tyler Inamoto and forward Alex Swetlikoff.
鈥淭he biggest thing has been our communication with the coaching staff here,鈥 Gretzky said. 鈥淭hey send videos and I talk to (Komets coach Jesse Kallechy) and I know Colin talks to Jesse a lot. So even if we鈥檙e thinking of calling up a player, I鈥檒l let Jesse know a couple of days in advance to help him out.鈥
A lack of communication was something that torpedoed some of the Komets鈥 previous affiliations. Frustration with teams such as the Vegas Golden Knights festered when almost no one was sent to Fort Wayne, players were called up with almost no notice, and called-up players sat in the stands instead of being on the ice.
To see the fruits of the Komets/Oilers affiliation, one need look only at the rosters. Bakersfield has Cameron Wright, Carl Berglund, Ethan De Jong, Corcoran and Inamoto, all with experience in Fort Wayne. The Komets have Swetlikoff, Ethan Keppen, Darren Brady, Connor Ungar and Brett Brochu, all contracted to either the Oilers or the Condors.
Gretzky said he鈥檚 been satisfied with the way Kallechy and his predecessor, Ben Boudreau, have developed prospects in Fort Wayne.
鈥淓ven when Ben Boudreau was still coaching here, we had a really good working relationship and I think we鈥檝e gotten better players and that鈥檚 a tribute to (the Komets),鈥 he said, adding that having Fort Wayne as an affiliate has helped in recruiting players during the offseason. 鈥淭he agents believe Fort Wayne is a good place to play and there is an opportunity to get called up to Bakersfield.鈥
As someone who spent time in Double-A hockey, Gretzky has an appreciation for the value of developing players at this level 鈥 especially goalies, such as Ungar and Brochu. One of the Oilers鈥 NHL goalies, Stuart Skinner, played 44 games with the ECHL鈥檚 Wichita Thunder in his first two pro seasons.
鈥淚 feel a lot of the goalies have to go down to the (ECHL) and play. 鈥 Guys have got to understand, you鈥檝e got to play a lot of games,鈥 Gretzky said. 鈥淧ro hockey is different than college and juniors and European hockey. Stuart Skinner鈥檚 played (in the ECHL), a lot of goalies have played there, and it鈥檚 not a bad thing. I think even for the forwards and defense, it鈥檚 not a bad thing.鈥
He also said it鈥檚 important to see if players thrive if assigned to the ECHL. The ones who check out probably won鈥檛 get called back to Bakersfield. The Komets, who are halfway through the regular season, skate today, Saturday and Sunday in Stateline, Nevada, against the expansion Tahoe Knight Monsters 鈥 the Golden Knights鈥 current ECHL affiliate.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not fair to the guys who are working hard and playing well if somebody who鈥檚 not playing well gets called up,鈥 Gretzky said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 work that way and it鈥檚 the same in the American Hockey League. If my boss calls, I鈥檓 going to tell him who鈥檚 playing well and go from there.鈥
While it was Gretzky鈥檚 first visit to Fort Wayne during the affiliation, Oilers assistant general manager Bill Scott usually comes a couple times a season, as does goalie coach Jeff Salajko.
The distance from Fort Wayne to Bakersfield 鈥 about 1,900 miles 鈥 seemed potentially problematic when the affiliation began, but many AHL games are played in the Midwest and Gretzky said distance hasn鈥檛 been much of an issue.
鈥淵ou have your pros and your cons and we always find a way to get players (where they need to be),鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou know, if there鈥檚 a game the next day and we think we鈥檙e going to send somebody down, we鈥檒l make sure they get back or vice-versa.
鈥淪o I don鈥檛 think (the distance) is the greatest, but it鈥檚 good enough, it鈥檚 workable and we鈥檝e shown it works.鈥
