Raiders pressured by Oilers to deal Draisaitl

That left the Raiders with three European imports, so the Raiders then shipped Tomas Andrlik to the Prince George Cougars for a 12^th round pick in 2015.

“It was pretty clear that (Draisaitl) coming back to the Raiders was not an option to be quite frank because we’re on the outside looking in,” said Campese, who’s Raiders are 16-23-1 and 10 points out of a playoff spot. “I think if we were in a different situation in the standings right now, it might have been a little bit different, but that’s not the case.

“From their standpoint, it was important that if he was leaving Edmonton, he was going to a situation in their opinion had an opportunity to win a championship.”

Although it’s not an ideal situation, Campese was quick to point out the silver lining—the ability to obtain assets in a trade for Draisaitl. Had Draisaitl stayed with the Oilers all year, there would be no way the Raiders would have been able to complete a trade like this.

“At one point, there was no chance that he was going to return back to the Western Hockey League, period. To have been able to get into a position to acquire assets at this time for us, it’s almost a gift,” said Campese. “People can look at it in any way they want, but up to several days ago, we had nothing for Leon Draisaitl. Today, we’re sitting here announcing that we got two, we feel, quality players, plus a couple of draft picks which include the first round pick.

“When you add all that to the mix, we feel we’ve been very fortunate.”

The Draisaitl deal is the third trade the Raiders have made with the Rockets since Dec. 2. Here’s a breakdown of the three trades Campese has made with the Rockets since Dec. 2.

OUT: 19-year-old Leon Draisaitl, F, 19-year-old Josh Morrissey, D, 19-year-old Gage Quinney, F, 4^th 2016

IN: 20-year-old Colton Heffley, F/D, 19-year-old Jesse Lees, D, 18-year-olds Austin Glover, F, Kris Schmidli, F, Dalton Yorke, D, 1^st 2015, 2^nd in 2016, 3^rd in 2017, 4^th in 2016, conditional 4^th in 2016/2017

As well as acquiring a pile of picks to help fill their prospect cupboards, the Raiders also acquired plug-and-play players to help them with this year. Every player the Raiders received in the deals, other than Heffley, are eligible to return next year and all but Lees can return the following year.

“We’ve had a tough stretch here after Christmas, it’s very unfortunate that we’ve gone 0-5 to be quite frank, but we do believe there’s still a lot of hockey left and we’ve added people into our organization right now that can step in a play and contribute and keep us in the playoff hunt,” said Campese. “That’s our goal right now. We believe we can make it into the playoffs.”

Schmidli has five goals and 17 points in 33 games in his second season with the Rockets. He also had a goal in six games with the Swiss at this year’s IIHF World Junior Championships. Yorke, a 6’2, 210 pound d-man, has two assists and is +2.

“He’s a skill player that skates very well that we believe is going to excel here given the opportunity,” said Campese. “He was playing behind some guys in Kelowna, he played a regular shift in Kelowna and killed penalties. Here, I think he’s going to be more intrusted with some offensive opportunities that he wasn’t given in Kelowna… Dalton Yorke is a 6’2, 210 pound defenceman, he’s a right handed shot, he’s is a physical player that likes to play the game hard. We’re pleased to add that element to our lineup and his age is absolutely critical—we (didn’t) have an 18-year-old defenceman in that slot.”

Schmidli and Yorke will be arriving to P.A. on Tuesday evening and are expected to play in Wednesday’s game against the Moose Jaw Warriors, although Campese said Schmidli is recovering from a flu bug.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea

by Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders pressured by Oilers to deal Draisaitl

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