Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl was penalized for playing with a broken stick during Sunday’s Heritage Classic against the Calgary Flames.
With the Oilers leading 1-0 just over seven minutes into the first period, Draisaitl battled Calgary’s Elias Lindholm for the puck along the boards. The Oilers’ forward turned, whipping his stick around and hitting it against the boards – snapping it just above the heel.
As the blade snapped off completely, Draisaitl held on to the broken shaft, kicking the puck forward.
That was enough for a penalty under rule 10.3:
A broken stick is one which, in the opinion of the Referee, is unfit for normal play.
A player without a stick may participate in the game. A player whose stick is broken may participate in the game provided he drops the broken stick. A minor penalty shall be imposed for an infraction of this rule.
Draisaitl can hang on to that stick if he wants, provided he’s not ‘participating’ in the game. That means no defensive play, no body checks… and no kicking the puck forward.
On the bright side for the Oilers, the two minutes of rest seemed to do Draisaitl good. He assisted on a Zach Hyman goal on his next shift after leaving the penalty box to give Edmonton a 2-0 lead.
Referees for the game were Garrett Rank (#7) and Eric Furlatt (#27), with linespersons Andrew Smith (#51) and Travis Toomey (#90).
