Being the reigning Hoby Baker award winner doesn’t preclude you from putting in your time on the farm.

Paying your dues.

Earning your keep.

Carrying water.

Chopping wood.

Whatever the analogy, when Isaac Howard was sent down to the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League, it wasn’t meant as punishment.

It was a likelihood from the beginning on an Edmonton Oilers roster that had been counting down the days since training camp for the eventual return of veteran winger Zach Hyman.

A foregone conclusion that at some point, Howard would be sent down to work on the skills and drills that will help develop him into the pro the Oilers envisioned when they traded for him in return for fellow former first-round draft pick Sam O’Reilly to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the off-season.

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