The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players' Association have jointly agreed to meet with federal mediators to aid the sides in negotiations toward establishing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

"We are able to confirm that we have agreed to a request by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to engage in meetings with the Union that will involve the participation of Federal Mediators," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. "While we have no particular level of expectation going into this process, we welcome a new approach in trying to reach a resolution of the ongoing labor dispute at the earliest possible date.

"We have no further comment on the upcoming meetings at the current time."

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services Director George H. Cohen said in a statement that he has assigned Deputy Director Scot L. Beckenbaugh and Director of Mediation Services John Sweeney to serve as the mediators between the NHL and NHLPA.

Edmonton Oilers prospect Oscar Klefbom, who had been starring on defense for Farjestad in the Swedish Elite League, will miss the remainder of the season with an injured left shoulder.

The Oilers announced Monday that Kelfbom would have surgery.

"He had a chance to see our doctors, we had a good assessment and how we can have a plan going forward with him," Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini told the team's website. "If there's a point in the year where this is going to happen, I guess it's better (to happen) now because we know that he's going to have time to prepare and be ready when it counts next season."

A pair of "exceptional" junior hockey players will join forces for Ontario when the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is held in Victoriaville and Drummondville, Quebec.

The 10-team tournament, scheduled Dec. 29, 2012, through Jan. 4, 2013, features five clubs from Canada, along with teams from the United States, Finland, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden. A total of 18 players who had at one time participated in the 2012 World U-17 Hockey Challenge were selected in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh last June.

Highlighting Ontario's roster are 2014 draft-eligible defenseman Aaron Ekblad of the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts and 2015 draft prospect Connor McDavid of the OHL's Erie Otters. Both players were granted exceptional player status by Hockey Canada to be eligible for their respective OHL Priority Selection drafts. Ekblad was promptly drafted No. 1 by the Colts in 2011 and McDavid was chosen first by the Otters in 2012.

Each Monday, NHL.com will take a look back at the weekend that was in the American Hockey League with an emphasis on the young stars and top prospects that are continuing their development. Here are some of the highlights from the past few days in the AHL:

FRIDAY

FIRST STAR

Andy Miele, Portland

Miele had four assists to help the Pirates fend off Springfield in overtime. The Falcons led 4-1 at one point, but Miele had the primary assist on three straight goals to level the score and again on Oliver Ekman-Larsson's winner in the extra session. Miele, the 2011 Hobey Baker Award winner, signed as an undrafted free agent with Phoenix in April of last year. He is now second on the Pirates with 16 points in 18 games.

After the Edmonton Oilers won their first Stanley Cup in the spring of 1984, NHL fans had one question for Wayne Gretzky and his high-scoring teammates entering the 1984-85 season: Can you do it again?

The Oilers seemed well on their way after rolling to a 6-3 win over the visiting Minnesota North Stars on Dec. 7. It was the club’s eighth straight victory and upped its record to a super impressive 20-3-3.

Gretzky and Co. reeled off another eight-game winning streak in late January/early February. At that point, the Oilers were full-steam ahead at a sensational 38-9-6.

Down the stretch, however, Edmonton stumbled a bit, finishing the regular season with a mediocre 6-7-4 mark in its last 17 games.

Once the Stanley Cup Playoffs started, however, the Oilers got their championship act together, losing three games en route to their second championship.

The '84-85 season also marked the arrival of a potential scoring rival for Gretzky. Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Mario Lemieux seemed to have the rare combination of super size and sensational skill to someday challenge the Great One’s lock on the Art Ross Trophy.

In our sixth installment of the NHL in the 1980s, I’ll examine the stories and topics that dominated the headlines during the '84-85 campaign.

The International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame announced its 2013 class Friday. Among the five inductees in the player category are four former NHL stars: Peter Forsberg, Paul Henderson, Teppo Numminen and Mats Sundin.

The six-person class, which includes player Danielle Goyette and builder Jan-Ake Edvinsson, will be inducted May 19, 2013, the day of the gold medal at the 77th IIHF World Championships in Stockholm.

NEW YORK - The National Hockey League announced today the cancellation of the 2012-13 regular-season schedule through December 14. The NHL also announced the cancellation of the 2013 NHL All-Star Weekend scheduled for Jan. 26-27 in Columbus, Ohio. The cancellations are necessary due to the absence of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL Players' Association and the NHL.

A total of 422 regular-season games -- 34.3 percent of the season -- were scheduled for Oct. 11 through Dec. 14.

Many believe the 1992-93 NHL season was among the finest staged in the League's history. From the addition of two teams through expansion, to the sudden prominence of European players, to the heroics of Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux, to the crowning of the Montreal Canadiens as Stanley Cup champions, the season was full of memorable moments. At its 20th anniversary, NHL.com will spend the year looking back at the key moments of that '92-93 campaign to see if it may indeed be the NHL's Greatest Season.

Eric Lindros was a huge presence that loomed over the story arc of this magical season. Last month, NHL.com looked at his trade to the Philadelphia Flyers -- perhaps the biggest in the history of the League -- through the eyes of the Flyers. Now we look at the deal through the eyes of the Quebec Nordiques, the team that drafted Lindros No. 1, then used him to finish the foundation of a franchise that would grow into a dynasty after relocating to Colorado.

As general manager and coach of the Quebec Nordiques, Pierre Page was well on his way to the team's fifth straight last-place finish in the Adams Division during the 1991-92 NHL season, and the potential solution to that chronic problem was refusing to play for his team.

Page chose Eric Lindros with the No. 1 pick in the 1991 NHL Draft despite the fact the prodigy, playing for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, had made it abundantly clear he never intended to sign with the Nordiques. With Lindros biding his time in junior, the Nordiques were heading toward a 52-point season, their sixth straight losing campaign.