THE LATEST ON LEON . . .
The NHL’s Edmonton Oilers announced Sunday that they have returned German F Leon Draisaitl “to the Canadian Hockey League.”
Later, the Prince Albert Raiders, with whom Draisaitl played the previous two seasons, issued this two-sentence news release: “The Edmonton Oilers have released Leon Draisaitl back to the Prince Albert Raiders pending a trade of his WHL rights. More details to follow in the coming days.” It is believed that a trade will be announced on Tuesday. That exchange is expected to have Draisaitl move to the Kelowna Rockets, perhaps for a player and a first-round bantam draft pick.
Draisaitl was selected by Edmonton with the third-overall pick in the 2014 NHL draft. In 37 games with the Oilers, he had two goals and seven assists.
Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal has more right here.
The Rockets are scheduled to be in Edmonton for a game with the Oil Kings on Jan. 28.
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Rene Fasel, the president of the IIHF, met with the media at the WJC in Toronto on Sunday and address the attendance situation involving games played in Montreal. . . . In discussing ticket prices, he said: “I was really surprised. If you would do this pricing in Europe, you would have nobody in the arena.” . . . The Canadian Press has a story from the news conference and it’s right here. It also includes a look at the various levels of ticket prices.Ken Campbell of The Hockey News also was in attendance at Fasel’s news conference. Campbell blogged about it right here.
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SUNDAY’S GAMES:
In Regina, the Calgary Hitmen scored twice in the shootout and beat the Pats, 3-2. . . . Calgary F Radel Fazleev got the winner. Earlier, F Adam Tambellini had scored for the Hitmen, with Dryden Hunt counting for Regina. . . . The Pats erased a 1-0 deficit when F Connor Gay and Hunt scored 17 seconds apart in the final minute of the first period. Gay has 20 goals; Hunt has 14. . . . Calgary F Connor Rankin forced OT with his 18th goal at 5:09 of the third. . . . Hunt also drew an assist as he ran assist and point streaks to 10 games. . . . Regina G Daniel Wapple stopped 31 shots, three more than Calgary’s Mack Shields. . . . The Pats had freshman F Sam Steel back after he missed two games with an undisclosed injury. . . . Prior to the game, the Pats announced that they have returned F Erik Gardiner, 15, to the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos. He had one assist in two games with Regina. . . . The Pats (24-12-3) are 4-0-1 in their last five. . . . The Hitmen improved to 21-15-3. . . . 
In Portland, F Miles Koules scored three times and G Adin Hill earned his second straight shutout as the Winterhawks beat the Seattle Thunderbirds, 4-0. . . . Hill has two career shutouts. . . . He stopped 29 shots for this one. . . . Koules has 17 goals. He opened the scoring at 19:28 of the first period, made it 3-0 on a PP 41 seconds into the third period, and closed the scoring into an empty net at 18:10. . . . Seattle was 0-for-5 on the PP; Portland was 1-for-3. . . . Seattle had scored first in each of its previous five games, and had won all five. . . . Linesman Jacob Hill left early in the game after taking a clearing attempt by Portland D Brendan De Jong up high. Jarrod Boman came out of the stands and finished up. . . . Portland F Keegan Iverson left with a match penalty at 3:06 of the first period. He was penalized for having tape on a hand while injuring an opponent during a fight with F Luke Osterman. . . . Portland (21-17-3) has won two in a row. . . . The Thunderbirds (19-16-4) had a season-high six-game winning streak end.---
@KIBIHT. Retired KIBIHT referees after party in Toronto pic.twitter.com/UgDuISxjPY
— Lee-Gaye Hicketts (@lhicketts) January 5, 2015
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