Latvian State Police have confirmed the death of Kristians Pelss, according to multiple=

Just over a year ago, Edmonton Oilers' prospect Kristians Pelss was playing in the Memorial Cup with the Edmonton Oil Kings. He was coming off a strong 19-year-old season as a player who could grind, kill penalties, and also pop in a regular goal.

Pelss went missing on Monday, and there were then unconfirmed reports that his body was found in the Daugava, the river that runs through Riga, Latvia. Those have been confirmed:

Delfi News, Diena and Apollo - all Latvian news papers- say Pelss’s body was found in the Daugava River late Friday night.

Pelss disappeared Tuesday, and local media reported that the 20-year-old hockey player jumped off a bridge in his home town of Riga.

Former NHLer Trevor Letowski (centre) has been a Sarnia asst. coach for 3 seasons (Sarnia Sting photo)

Stability and Sting are not that far apart in the dictionary, but have often tended to be light-years apart where the Sarnia OHL franchise is concerned.

Fortunately for the Sting, which promoted alumnus and former NHLer Trevor Letowski from assistant to head coach on Friday morning, it did not overthink the first step of the post-Jacques Beaulieu era. While their former coach and GM might have come across as a bit bull-in-a-china-shop by times, it's best to have some continuity for the Sting's younger cohort, which includes 11 players who are moving into their 17- and 18-year-old seasons. So promoting Letowski, while trying to retain Alex Galchenyuk Sr. as a de facto skills coach, probably makes the most sense for a franchise that found out two years after the fact that no, the ends did not justify the means with Beaulieu. Especially when the ends were successive first-round playoff exits and the embarrassment, by association, of a coach facing assault charges.

Mirco Mueller competed in the world junior championship last season (Don Denton, The Canadian Press)

With the quietly effective game he plays, it figures that Mirco Mueller possesses a rare distinction among the NHL's incoming draft class.

Many North American-based players had to fight fatigue and jet lag after a trans-oceanic flight to Russia for either the world junior championship in Ufa or or world under-18s in Sochi. Mueller, the 6-foot-3½, 184-pound defenceman who was ninth among domestic skaters in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking, did so twice. He was a key part of Switzerland's U18 and U20 teams.

"I was pretty honoured to do that, play for my country," Mueller says. "I have lots of great memories and it helped me get better. I got to play against so different players this year, in different competitions."

Kristians Pelss helped the Oil Kings win the WHL title in 2012 (The Canadian Press)

A little more than a year ago, Kristians Pelss experienced the zenith of any young hockey player's career when he raised the Ed Chynoweth Cup with his Edmonton Oil Kings teammates. That was a happy time, but now an unconfirmed report from media outlets in his homeland of Lativa states that the 20-year-old Edmonton Oilers farmhand has "disappeared without a trace" after reportedly jumping into a river.

There has been no cellphone contact with Pelss, who played for the Oilers' AHL and ECHL affiliates this season, since Monday. His family has not given up hoping that he will be found and the only hard information seems to be that the missing man has a 1992 birthdate.

Madison Bowey is considered one of the smoothest-skating defencemen out of the WHL (Larry McDougal, The Canadian Press)

Kelowna Rockets defenceman Madison Bowey had a spring that was proof a door never shuts without a window opening.

A veritable perfect storm of injuries dashed the Rockets' aspirations of making a long playoff run. Their second-round ouster, though, meant Bowey was able to join Canada for the IIHF U18 world championship. The Winnipegger, who has been hailed for his speed and his ability to read the ice, was a main cog for the Maple Leaf while helping the country capture its first gold medal at the event since 2008. In doing so, Bowey likely pushed his draft stock much higher than his final Central Scouting ranking — 32nd among North American skaters — indicates, meaning he could be a first-rounder on June 30.

"Going in, we weren't the team to win. It's usually the Americans' tournament to win. We came together quickly. We had great leadership and a great coach [Don Hay from the WHL's Vancouver Giants]. It was huge for all of us, definitely a great thrill."

Morgan Klimchuk is NHL Central Scouting Service's 25th ranked NA skater.When Morgan Klimchuk arrived in Regina last year as a rookie, he knew there was pressure on his shoulders to follow the footsteps of Pats legendary scorers Jordan Eberle and Jordan Weal, who was in his 19-year-old season at the time.

“I knew, being a high draft pick, the team and fans were hoping for me to become a key player for them,” said Klimchuk, who was selected fifth overall in the 2010 bantam draft. “Eberle did so much for the organization and has gone on to become a great player in the NHL (with the Edmonton Oilers). I got to play with Weal last year as a rookie and I know firsthand how talented he is and how much of an impact he makes. But I didn’t think of it as I have to be the next Eberle or Weal. I tried not to focus on it and just work hard and try to continue to grow as a player.”

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound winger isn’t trying to become “the next Jordan Eberle,” but he looks up to him and has tried to emulate parts of his game after the Oilers’ 2008 first-round pick.

Kivihalme is committed to Colorado College (Fargo Force photo)

Teemu Kivihalme has a hockey story that could only happen in America, by way of Finland.

One who did not know better would presume from the name that the puck-moving defenceman hails from someplace such as Hämeenlinna or Helsinki. Kivihalme, who is ranked 64th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, is actually dual Finnish-American citizen. His father and coach at Burnsville (Minn.) High School, Janne Kivihalme, immigrated to the U.S. midwest as an exchange student and ended up settling there. A generation later, Teemu Kivihalme, while being a Karlssonish slight 5-foot-11¼ and 161 pounds, has impressed scouts with his speed, skill and son-of-a-coach smarts.

"I try to treat it as no different," Kivihalme, who also played for the USHL's Fargo Force last season, says of playing for his dad in the Minnesota high school ranks. "He's really on me. He tries to tell the team that he treats me no differently than any other player. He's on me constantly, on and off the ice. It's good for me. He definitely helped me as a player growing up.

"It's great having my American side and my Finnish side," adds the Colorado College recruit, whom in case you're wondering, is named after future Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne. "The family on the Finnish side is really proud of me. I try to visit every summer. It's unique, not every kid has that."

Moutrey is projected as a second- to third-round choice (Aaron Bell, OHL Images)

That oft-overused phrase 'go to the dirty areas' takes on new meaning with the Saginaw Spirit's Nick Moutrey.

The Saginaw Spirit wing who stands an imposing 6-foot-3, 208 pounds is on the threshold between being a safe NHL draft choice and a potential second-line forward in the big league. The biggest determinant will likely be whether the 17-year-old, who is ranked 58th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, can develop quicker feet.

"The main thing will be those first couple steps — becoming more explosive, getting those quicker feet at the start," Moutrey says. "I feel like I will do that this summer. I work with [former NHLer] Aaron Downey and he's just 10 minutes from my house.

"He doesn't really like machines, he likes doing all of work all natural," Moutrey says of training with Downey. "He'll have you going up his ropes, going through potato farms when the ground is all mushy to work on quick feet, running with weights."