It was one of the most important calls of his career, until it wasn’t. 19-year-old LW Eric Mooreche, recalled from the minors by the Edmonton Oilers, was prevented from entering the country by Customs at the airport for not having proper signatures from his parents on his admissions paperwork.
Despite the forward’s ability to flawlessly dangle through defensemen, border agents quickly turned him away to return to his home in the States.
“It’s unfortunate, but the NHL has a very strict policy on getting parental signatures for players under 28,” Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland said. “It’s a silly rule, but it’s tradition and in Canada, we don’t ever mess with tradition.”
It is not known what kind of affect Mooreche’s absence will have on him but if he wants to play at the NHL level in Canada he’s going to have to find a way to get parents, Garret and Michelle, to sign off.
This isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened in the league’’s history. Wayne Gretzky once miss practice with the LA Kings because his dad, “was sick and tired of him not keeping his room clean.”
Image by Rene D.
