Edmonton Oilers Kristians Pelss dead

13 Jun 2013 | Davide Tuniz

Very likely the 21 years old player drowned in the Daugava River but the body is still missing

News is still unconfirmed by Latvia Federation spokesman Maris Gorbunovs: "I can´t say more for now, I know what media reported" said Gorbunovs but Latvia's Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that on June 11 witnesses watched a man jumping from Akmens Tilts (the Stone Bridge) in Riga. Rescuers began a search, but the body wasn´t found in the river. Some abandoned clothes were found on the bridge. It is assumed that Pelss arrived in Riga on Monday, but ever since his mobile phone was switched off. This week the police received a complaint from the parents of a man born in 1992, who is missing. The police can confirm the identity of the drowned only after the body is found.

Pelss was the captain of U20 Latvian team at World Championship in Canada. In 2012, he has signed a three-year contract with Edmonton Oilers but he never played in NHL. This season he played for Oilers´affiliate teams, Oklahoma City Barons in AHL and Stockton Thunder in ECHL. In December he received a 21-games ban for delivering a two-handed, forceful slash, behind the play, to the face of an unsuspecting opponent, causing an injury as reported by ECHL. For his fighting spirit Pelss was known as “The Little Latvian Ball of Hate” during his years at Edmonton Oil Kings in WHL

MORE INFORMATIONS LATER