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Morning, folks!
Not much in the way of new Oilers news in the last 24 or so hours, but we might be able to offer some clarity to the Leon Draisaitl to Cologne rumors that surfaced in yesterday’s links:
From Mark Spector:
2. Neither Draisaitl nor his agent have asked to play games in Germany. Highly doubtful NHL team or player would see value in risking injury in games.
— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) September 16, 2020
Remember, this ISN'T a lockout, where players are free to play elsewhere. Draisaitl's playing rights controlled by Oilers.
And more, from Julie Robenhymer, a blogger for HockeyBuzz and HockeySverige:
To be clear... He’s from Cologne and asked to train with the team as they prepare for their season to start in two months. He also said if the NHL didn’t start as currently scheduled and there was a chance for him to play (insurance issues pending), he’d want to play for them. https://t.co/B1b60Ir72O
— Julie Robenhymer (@JulieRobenhymer) September 16, 2020
Given that the NHL starting in December (as planned) is far from a guarantee at this point, it will be worth paying attention to the Draisaitl story if, for no other reason, to get an idea as to when it may begin. If Draisaitl starts playing for Cologne, the NHL season is probably a long way away.
In non-NHL news, from TSN’s Darren Dreger;
Announcement coming from IIHF. This years World Junior Championship will be hosted in the Edmonton Hub. Next years also hosted in Alberta, hopefully in healthier times.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) September 17, 2020
Another sign perhaps that the NHL isn’t going to be playing in December? If the WJHC is occupying the Edmonton bubble, what will that mean for the Oilers? What will that mean for the league?! We still have no idea what the format might look like, whether fans will be involved, how international travel might work, and so on, and so on, and so on. That the Edmonton bubble will be occupied by a hockey world’s worth of international teams (all whom have presumably followed Canadian quarantine rules pertaining to international arrivals, mind you) for most of December and part of January suggests that the NHL probably won’t be. Time will tell.
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