On Tuesday (August 12), the Bakersfield Condors Signed four players Up to a year, two-way American Hockey League (AHL) contract for the 2025-26 season.
Participate in the AHL branch of the Edmonton Oilers are Vooruit Matt Brown and Trevor Janicke, as well as defenders Mats Lindgren and Luke Prokop.
Signed✍️
>> https://t.co/2NFJ6M9DVD pic.twitter.com/aliw8srq9c
– Bakersfield Condors (@Condors) August 11, 2025
Prokop is someone who is already known to Edmonton Hockey fans. The 23-year-old was born in the Alberta Capital and won the Western Hockey League (WHL) championship as a member of the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2022.
But the more your Prokop gets to know, it is almost impossible not to be impressed by the towering Blueliner. On Wednesday (August 13), Prokop Now appeared on oilers with Bob Stauffer And spoke with great introspection about where he is in hockey.
Limited games in Milwaukee
Selected 73RD In general in the NHL design of 2020 by the Nashville Predators, Prokop still has to stay in the NHL past the preseason and has only played in the minors since he closes his junior career in 2023.
In 2024-25 he only received 31 games with the AHL branch of Nashville, the Milwaukee-Admirals, a total of four points of one goal and three assists while registering a plus/min of Plus-3.
“I knew a bit where I was going in Milwaukee last season,” Prokop told Stauffer. “It was going to be tough to crack the lineup every night. We had a lot of really good defense who are up and down with nashville throUghout the season on our team, and I thought when i got into into a circans, it was just a fewy eacey eagy eafy bley a eace a eace a eace a eace a eacey a eace a eace a eace a eacey a eage a. My control in some areas, and obviously that’s frustrating, but I child or had to realize that it was out of my control, and to focus that I can, which was work hard in practice, hard in the scrap skating. “
He continued, “I think I came a lot as a person and as a player this last season, and in general my mental force on that side of things improved, and with the ebb and streams of the season, not super frustrated when I am in the line -up, when I am out of the line -up,” Prokop continued. “So I think I grew up a lot in the past season, even if I hadn’t played as many games as I had wanted.”
Chance with condors
Prokop became a free agent on July 1 when the predators has not made a qualifying offer To their selection of the third round of 2020. Although it was just announced this week, the Prokop deal with the condors had been in the making for a while, according to Stauffer.
“I think I saw a lot of chance in Bakersfield with the defender they have there, with not many younger players,” Prokop told Stauffer. “For me, this free desk just tried to find out where the best chance will be, and in the end I decided it was Bakersfield.”
Including Lindgren and Prokop, the Condors currently signed three defenders for an AHL contract for the 2025-26 season.
Eyes on the NHL
The ultimate goal of Prokop is of course to make the NHL, and there is a history of players who came to Bakersfield on an AHL contract and have parolded with the oilers in an NHL deal. Vincent Desharnais and James Hamblin are two recent examples.
With age and experience, wisdom comes, and after the suffering of the outrage to be to be effectively told “We no longer want you” by the organization that he has drawn up, it seems to have discovered Prokop who he should be to achieve the highest level of hockey.
“It has always been a bit the same old story with me,” said Prokop on Oilers. “I believe I am a very good skater, my hockey -iq is very good, I am a good passer -by, I am probably more about the defensive ending, but if I get the chance, I can also offend.
“The majority for me has always realized my size, how big I am, and that can use to defend players against the Rush or in the corners, add a little bit, add a little grit to my game, which is a bit capable of switching, and I can use a little more intimidation and my size,” Prokop went further.
“I think I have grown slowly in the last few seasons. I think that I am making a little more and more progress during the junior, and then by the end of the season in Milwaukee last year, I came there, and I think that will be the biggest difference for me. 6-foot-5, 220-pound right shot (I think that some thurlets will open for me.”
Prokop gets his first chance to impress the oilers when he goes to their training camp next month. Although he almost certainly starts the season in Bakersfield, the Edmonton product will be someone for Oilers fans to keep an eye on in the 2025-26.
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