After Beau Akey made his NHL pre-season debut on Sunday, the Edmonton Oilers shipped the 18-year-old defenceman back to the OHL's Barrie Colts on Monday.
Picked in the second round (56th overall) of this year's NHL Draft, Akey saw 17:26 of ice time in Edmonton's 2-1 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
“Realistically, Beau Akey knows that he's not playing for the Edmonton Oilers in the middle of October here,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said after the game. “What he wants to do is come in and leave an impression on the management group, an impression on the coaches, and an impression on the people that matter the most for someone like him: the players on the NHL hockey team.”
The native of Waterloo, Ont., had 11 goals and 36 assists for 47 points in 66 games with the Colts last season.
By sending Akey back Monday, he should be available to the Colts for their season opener against the visiting North Bay Battalion on Thursday.
