Just days after being returned to the team, Peyton Krebs returned to the ice on Sunday night in more ways than one.
The Vegas Golden Knights prospect was returned to junior hockey on Friday and inked his entry-level contract with the Golden Knights on Saturday.
Just 24 hours after being returned to the Western Hockey League’s Winnipeg Ice, Krebs was in the lineup for the team on Sunday night in a road game against the Portland Winterhawks.
The game was the first action this season for the 18-year-old.
Krebs, partially tore his Achilles tendon while training in the off season just weeks prior to the NHL draft last June. The veteran forward began skating in early October.
In an interview posted on the Ice twitter feed on Friday, Krebs called the process of getting healthy “a grind.”
“Part of the plan was to be 100-per cent ready when I came back,” Krebs said. “I feel great and I feel ready. It’s going to take a couple of periods to get back into the rhythm but once I do that, everything else will be smooth sailing.”
"The excitement of winning… score some goals with my teammates, give them a hug."
ICE Captain, @peytonkrebs12 spoke following practice today about getting back into game action. #FeelTheFreeze pic.twitter.com/EduKFoWaPY
— Winnipeg ICE (@WHLWpgICE) November 16, 2019
Winnipeg is off to an 11-9-1-0 start after dropping a 4-1 decision to Portland on Sunday.
Krebs assisted on Winnipeg’s lone goal in the loss.
Nearly a month after overage goaltender Dylan Myskiw made the jump to the Ontario Hockey League from the WHL and eventually landed with the London Knights, Bailey Brkin is the latest netminder to move east.
After starting the season with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, Brkin was let go by the team after the return of Adam Evanoff from injury.
After not being claimed by any WHL teams, the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs claimed the veteran netminder and subsequently traded him to the Soo Greyhounds in exchange for overage goaltender Christian Propp and a draft pick.
The move to Ontario has been a successful one early on for Brkin, who was solid last season with the Spokane Chiefs.
Brkin was acquired by the Greyhounds on Tuesday and made his first start with the team the following day in a win over the Sudbury Wolves.
The Sherwood Park, Alta., product has a 3-0-0-0 record with the Greyhounds and has surrendered just six goals and has earned the praise of Greyhounds coach John Dean.
“He settles us down,” Dean said of the overage netminder following a win over the Oshawa Generals on Saturday night. “He’s vocal. He’s positive.”
“He’s just got a swagger about him,” Dean also said. “He’s got a compete about him. He’s almost like a player. He’s very competitive and he feeds it to the guys.”
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In the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Rimouski Oceanic trio of Alexis Lafreniere (2020), Cedric Pare, and Dmitry Zavgorodniy (Calgary) continue to set the standard offensively.
Lafreniere and Pare have continued their torrid offensive starts to the season, remaining at a two-point-per-game clip.
After being held off the scoresheet in his first two games in November, Lafreniere had eight points in his last four games. Pare, an overage forward, has points in all but three games this season.
Zavgorodniy sits third in the QMJHL scoring race and has quieted down slightly after scoring 30 points in 13 games in the month of October.
The Flames prospect has continued at slightly above a point-per-game clip in November with seven points in six games this month. That includes a pair of three-point games recently.
