After taking a few days to drink copious amounts of Bailey’s and coffee, it’s time to get caught up on some Oilers news nuggets from the past few days.
Letestu retires
Former Edmonton Oilers forward Mark Letestu announced his retirement from the NHL on Sunday. He played parts of three seasons with the Oilers from 2015-2018 appearing in 220 games. Letestu scored 34 goals and 79 points with the Oilers.
He gained a partial cult title from Oilers fans, largely in part to his tremendous 2017 playoffs that saw him score five goals and 11 points in 13 games.
Signed as a free agent in 2015, he left the Oilers in a Feb. 25, 2018 trade that saw the team get back Pontus Aberg.
The Elk Point, Alta. native was undrafted, but got his pro hockey break with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In total, Letestu played in 567 NHL games scoring 210 points.
Holloway hurt
Dylan Holloway missed Sunday’s game against Slovakia due to an upper-body injury. The injury happened sometime during the game against the Russians on Saturday, but it’s possible it happened on this play:
The Canadians square up against Switzerland on Tuesday afternoon. Canada plays its final game of the round-robin Thursday afternoon against Finland.
On those big 50/50 draws…
Remember the massive 50/50 draws this past summer? Hard to believe that was four months ago. But in the time since, the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation have made donations back in the community.
One of which came last week, when they announced a $450,000 donation to local community groups promoting healthy and active lifestyles.
According to the foundation, funds are geared towards recreational opportunities for the city’s most vulnerable, specifically in the downtown area, as well as supporting youth hockey participation from under-represented groups.
“At a time when health and safety restrictions have put a pause on recreational sports through the province, keeping kids and families active has never been more important not only for our physical wellbeing, but also for our mental health. Oil Country’s vulnerable population are most at risk of the negative consequences of the pandemic and we believe our investment will go where it is most needed,” foundation executive director Natalie Minckler said in release.
Funding is also being directed towards Free Play for Kids, formerly known as Free Footie, as well as the Hockey Alberta Foundation and KidSport Edmonton.
WJC CONTENT IS SPONSORED BY HOCKEY CANADA
The 2021 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship is back in Alberta from December 20th – January 5th, and for the first time ever, the tournament will feature a province-wide online 50/50 raffle in support of the Hockey Alberta Foundation. Albertans will have the chance to win jackpots that are bigger than ever with every game day having a maximum of up to $20 million! Tickets can be purchased online or from your mobile device within Alberta starting at 9am each day at
hockeycanada.ca/5050 with the winning ticket being announced daily. The World Juniors tournament and online 50/50 program will give Albertans an opportunity to leave a historic legacy with all proceeds staying in the province and supporting Hockey Alberta Foundation and the Hockey Canada Foundation.
