Mark Messier's Kid A Rocket!

The Moose is loose in Kelowna. Or at least the off-spring of the Moose is in K-Town.
The son of former Edmonton Oiler/Ranger/Canuck Mark Messier has been acquired by the Rockets from the Edmonton Oil Kings for future considerations.
In talking to Rockets head coach Ryan Huska tonight, Lyon (pronounced lion) Messier is a non-flashy type of defenseman who is competing for a job now that he's arrived in the Rockets fold. He is not a slam dunk to make the team, but Huska believes he could add some experience on an extremely young blue line. But like any one, he needs to earn a spot on the roster. Messier fills the Rockets quota of three overage players. The other two are Kristofer Westblom and James McEwan. The first question people will ask is why Messier was unable to make an expansion team when they are allotted five 20 year-olds in their first season in the league? The fact is the Oil Kings are extremely heavy back on defense with four overagers, and Messier wasn't able to grab one of the top four spots. I can't speak for the Oil Kings, but it appears they would like to fill that final 20 year-old spot with a forward. Once again that's pure speculation on my part. Huska spoke with Messier by phone Tuesday, and the Burke Virginia native appears to be happy with his move to Kelowna. The Rockets pick up Messier from the airport Wednesday morning at around 7, and he will meet his new teammates before heading to practice in the afternoon.

This is the press release sent out by the Edmonton Oil Kings. The Rockets did not send out a release because their website is under construction.

The Edmonton Oil Kings’ General Manager Bob Green announced today the trade of 20 year old defenceman Lyon Messier to the Kelowna Rockets in exchange for future considerations. The Burke, Virginia native was at Edmonton Oil Kings training camp as a free agent invite. He played last season with the Texas Tornados of the North American Hockey League where he registered 2 goals and 16 assists in 62 regular season games, plus 57 penalty minutes.
“Lyon had a good training camp with us and proved he can play in the league. We’re obviously a little crowded when it comes to players born in 1987 and we’re very happy with the 3 twenty year olds we have on the blue line.” says Green.