Oilers return Leon Draisaitl to junior hockey

The Edmonton Oilers returned No. 3 overall 2014 draft pick Leon Draisaitl to the Western Hockey League on Sunday.

Officially, he's released to his old team, the Prince Albert Raiders, but they plan to trade his rights after the world junior championships end.

Draisaitl, 19, played 37 games with the Oilers this season, recording nine points, a -7 rating and averaging 12 minutes, 41 seconds a game while winning 40.6% of his faceoffs. He was a healthy scratch twice.

The German-born center has used up the first year of his entry-level contract, but because he has played fewer than 40 games, this season won't count when calculating when he can become an unrestricted free agent.

Returning to junior hockey will allow Draisaitl to get more ice time and become a dominant player. He had 105 points last season with the Raiders, who have struggled this season. Speculation out of Canada is that he'll be traded to the Western Conference-leading Kelowna Rockets.

Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish has bolstered the last-place team at center in the past week with the acquisition of Derek Roy.