Partnership also includes affiliation with Lake Erie of the AHL.
TULSA, OK— For the first time in the teams post-1992 history, the Tulsa Oilers are part of an NHL farm system. Oilers coach Bruce Ramsay announced Thursday that the team would be the Central Hockey League affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL and the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League.
“This is a great step forward for our hockey team,” Ramsay said. “Last season we worked with Colorado and Lake Erie on an informal basis and we got goalie Trevor Cann as a result of the relationship and he played great for us. Making this a formal affiliation will only strengthen that bond and will help us overall throughout the hockey operations.”
Trevor Cann played 18 games for the Oilers last season, posting an 11-6-1 record during a mid-season assignment. The native of Oakville Ontario was drafted 49th overall by Colorado in the second round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. The Lake Erie Monsters are based in Cleveland, Ohio and play in Quicken Loans Arena.
The Monsters are happy to have the Oilers on board for the season.
“We are excited to begin this new affiliation with the Tulsa Oilers,” said David Oliver, the Avalanche’s Director of Player Development and General Manager of the Lake Erie Monsters. “We are confident this organization in Tulsa will provide the right environment for our players in the Central Hockey League. Their leadership group and staff have the necessary resources to support the development of our prospects.”
Last season, the Monsters were 7th place in the AHL North conference, with a 34-37-1 record. The Colorado Avalanche were 2nd in the National Hockey League’s Northwest division, posting a 43-30-4 record.
The last time the Oilers had a formal affiliation with the NHL was in 1984, their final year of the original CHL, when the team was in the New York Rangers farm system, and prior to that Tulsa had affiliated with the Winnipeg Jets (now Phoenix Coyotes), the Atlanta (now Calgary) Flames, and the Vancouver Canucks. The Oilers become only the second CHL team to have a formalized NHL affiliation in place for the upcoming season. The Odessa Jackalopes are aligned with NHL’s New York Islanders and AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, although other CHL teams could possibly have affiliations in place by the start of the season.
The Oilers drop the puck on the 2010-2011 season on October 15th at home against the Wichita Thunder in the amazing BOK Center. For information about season tickets, contact the Oilers front office at 632-7825.