Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Oil Kings Deal Forward


The battle for the Edmonton Oil Kings 3rd 20 year old is now down to a couple of defenceman after Edmonton dealt overage forward Craig McCallum (pictured courtesy www.oilkings.ca) to the Prince Albert Raiders for a conditional bantam draft pick in 2010. From the official team release, here are comments from G.M. Bob Green.

"It is very difficult to make these decisions for our 20 year old roster spots, with the number of talented players we have in camp," says General Manager Bob Green. "Craig is a good kid and a good hockey player. This move will make it possible for him to continue his career in the WHL."

McCallum netted 31 goals in 2 seasons for the Oil Kings. He was absent from the team for 2 games in last year's first round playoff loss to Calgary because of personal reasons, but that wasn't the reason for making this deal. Credit Bob Green for finding a place for McCallum to continue his WHL career, as it was fairly clear to most he wasn't going to stick with the Kings this year.

With Torrie Jung and Brett Breitkreuz pretty much locking up 2 overage spots, it now comes down to Drew Nichol and Garrett Thiessen for the final spot.

Edmonton wraps up the pre season this Friday in Barrhead taking on Calgary.

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