Oilers Call Up Polarizing Defenceman From Minors

The Oilers are calling up Josh Brown to fill the void left by Darnell Nurse's injury.

Perry Nelson-Imagn Images - Oilers Call Up Polarizing Defenceman From Minors

One of the Oilers' offseason acquisitions will finally make his debut in blue and orange.

The team announced on Sunday afternoon that defenceman Josh Brown is being recalled from Bakersfield. This implies that both Viktor Arvidsson, who has missed the past two games due to injury, and Darnell Nurse, who did not return to Saturday's game after being hit by Ryan Reaves, will be out for at least one more game.

The Oilers signed the 30-year-old Brown to a three-year, 3 million dollar contract over the summer, but sent him down to Bakersfield to start the season after he struggled in training camp.

The big defenceman (listed at 6'5", 217 lbs) is one of the more polarizing players in the NHL. Despite consistently poor traditional (34 points in 290 career games) and advanced statistics (37.9% expected goals share last season), Brown consistently gets opportunities in NHL lineups thanks to his size and toughness.

The Oilers clearly see something in him -- note the three-year contract mentioned above.

Brown has been extremely on-brand in the AHL to start the season. The big bruiser has just 2 assists in 12 games but leads the league in penalty minutes with 46 -- again, through just 12 games.

Brown made waves on Saturday in the Condors' 8-7 barnburner win over the San Diego Gulls. Not only did he pick up his first points of the season with two assists, but he also pummelled Gulls youngster Nathan Gaucher in a spirited fight in the first period.

If Nurse and Arvidsson are both out, Brown's call-up means the Oilers will continue with an 11-7 lineup as Brown joins the defence corps. Given that the Oilers have plenty of call-up candidates among forwards in Bakersfield, we can surmise that Brown is more than just a warm body.

With Nurse taken out by the NHL's foremost enforcer, the Oilers are looking to make sure it doesn't happen again with the big man Brown on the ice. One only hopes that's worth his lacklustre contributions in other areas of the game.

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