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Condors' Caldwell Ready
For Another Shot In NHL

November 5, 2009

By Mike Griffith
Californian Staff Writer
The Bakersfield Californian

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - A lengthy practice had finished earlier and every few minutes a handful of players skated off the ice at Rabobank Arena and to the locker room.

Finally, after standing in front of the net and practicing deflections for a few minutes, Kyle Calder skated off more than 30 minutes after practice officially ended.

Yes, a National Hockey League veteran who has played nearly 600 games at the highest level was the last one to leave the ice Tuesday morning.

Calder, who found himself without a job this season after playing the last two seasons for the Los Angeles Kings, was signed by Anaheim last week and assigned to the Condors.

It's a strange assignment for a nine-year NHL vet, but this is a strange season for Anaheim, which does not have its own American Hockey League affiliate and has heavily stocked the Condors with prospects.

Calder is slated to play his first ECHL game Thursday, when the Condors travel to Las Vegas.

"They (the Ducks) wanted me to come here and be around their younger guys," Calder, 30, said of how he wound up in Bakersfield, two steps below the NHL in a normal season, "and I think it's a good situation. It's a good atmosphere around here."

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