By Jason Karnosky

When the Admirals needed him the most, Jordan Oesterle delivered.

For the 2025-26 AHL stretch run, the 33-year-old defenseman carried Milwaukee on his back, with strong performances every night. The Dearborn Heights, Michigan native willed the Admirals to the Calder Cup playoffs for the 20th time in its 24-year league tenure.

“Jordan’s been huge for us, and without him we wouldn’t be in the playoffs or even be close,” Admirals coach Karl Taylor said. “He’s been a major contributor to our success.”

From February 15 until April 4, Oesterle went on an epic heater, turning pucks into goals. In that 21-game stretch, the 33-year-old racked up nine goals and 24 points.

“I was trying to play that way and be a leader for most of the season, but lately I’ve been rewarded with more points,” Oesterle said. “Those stats certainly catch people’s eye, but they came at the right time for us.”

The undrafted defenseman finished the season with 46 points, trailing only forward Jake Lucchini (50) in Milwaukee’s scoring race. As Oesterle got hot, the Admirals (32-33-4-3) started winning, nabbing 12 wins from February 15 onward, including four over first-round playoff opponent Manitoba.

“We have some confidence going into the playoffs with how well we’ve played against the divisional teams,” said Oesterle’s whose team finished with the fewest points of any postseason participant. “We’ve been battling for the past two-to-three months, playing meaningful hockey, so when we get into the playoffs it is going to feel like we are just playing another game.”

After the NHL trade deadline, Milwaukee lost a couple of its top players to either the Predators or injury. Because of this Admirals leaned even more on Oesterle, who responded by stepping up and standing out.

“Jordan’s been really good for our organization, and he was a good pick up for us last year,” Admirals general manager Scott Nichol said. “He’s kind of been on that fringe, in that waiver claim area the last few years, up and down a little bit. This year he was solidified in the American League, and that really showed in his game.”

Oesterle’s most impressive week came in late March. As some fans were enjoying their spring break, the undrafted defenseman racked up four goals and five points and earned Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week honors.

“We’ve played Jordan a lot with one of our rookies, Andrew Gibson, and he really flourished in that role of helping and grooming a young defenseman,” Nichol said. “Andrew made some mistakes, but that’s why Jordan is such a good pro. He is level-headed, even when he’s covering up for his younger teammates, and now those guys are playing a bunch of minutes every night for us.”

During that week Oesterle scored an overtime winner in a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Grand Rapids on March 24. Three nights earlier he buried a pair of goals in another win over the Griffins.

Oesterle’s dramatic flair showed throughout March. Just seven seconds into overtime the blue liner ended a game against Rockford, giving the Admirals a crucial 2-1 win over the IceHogs on March 11.

“When Jordan has the puck he makes great plays for us, (especially) when he’s breaking the puck out and moving it up the ice,” Admirals assistant coach Greg Rallo said. “He’s earned his chances, so it was great for him to get some big ones to go in.”

Oesterle’s stellar play put him in elite company in the AHL. He finished tied with Henderson’s Dyland Coghlan and Belleville’s Lassi Thomson for the league lead in goals among defensemen with 14 and ranked sixth in points.

“Jordan was on an incredible run throughout March,” Taylor said. “He was guaranteed to be a player that got a goal every game for us, whether it be via a pass or scoring it himself.”

Oesterle might have even more AHL points, but with the Predators fighting in the season’s final games to make the Stanley Cup playoffs, they called on the former Western Michigan University product to help with their stretch run. He dressed for one game, an April 9 contest against Utah that Nashville lost 4-1.

“It was a lot of fun to go up there late in the season, and to be a part of Nashville’s playoff run,” Oesterle said. “I’ve learned where my feet are, which is here. But it was great to go up there and play and play a meaningful game. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but it was a good experience.”

The Predators added Oesterle during the 2024-25 season, and when he arrived in the Music City he made an immediate contribution. In 15 games with the Predators, Oesterle tallied three goals and four points.

“We picked him up off of waivers from Boston last season, because we’ve always really liked him as a player with the way he can skate and can move,” Nichol said. “I thought he did a fantastic job for us this year.”

That 15-game stint with Nashville last year upped Oesterle’s career total to 14 goals and 46 points. He’s been a true journeyman, playing 409 total NHL games for Edmonton, Chicago, Arizona, Detroit, Calgary, Boston, and now Nashville.

While Oesterle added only one more game to his career total this season, he’s in a better place personally after spending the past two seasons bouncing back-and-forth between the AHL and NHL in the Flames and Bruins organizations.

Oesterle spent almost all of 2025-26 with Milwaukee in the AHL and flourished.

“Jordan loves it here and is very invested in how we do things,” Taylor said. “It’s been a bit of a different path for him as he hasn’t been on a secure team in a while. He wants to be a part of a team that wins and makes a long playoff run.”

While Oesterle would prefer to be back at the game’s highest level, the stability Milwaukee offered him meant a lot to him at this stage of his career.

“Especially with a young family here, it’s been nice to be in one place all season,” Oesterle said. “I haven’t been gone living in another city for extended periods of time, and that’s been good for me, and it’s helped my game.”

While starting their playoff run with a three-game, play-in round series isn’t ideal, Milwaukee knows it can make some noise in the playoffs with Oesterle playing at an elite level.

“We know we wouldn’t be in a playoff position without him,” Nichol said. “That run he had after the trade deadline is a big reason why we are here.”