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1972–73 Alberta Oilers season

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1972–73 Alberta Oilers
Division5th Western
1972–73 record38–37–3
Home record26–13–2
Road record12–24–1
Goals for269 (9th)
Goals against256 (4th)
Team information
General managerBill Hunter
CoachRay Kinasewich
Bill Hunter
CaptainAl Hamilton
Alternate captainsDoug Barrie
Val Fonteyne
Jim Harrison
ArenaEdmonton Gardens
Average attendance3,848 (74.0%)
Team leaders
GoalsJim Harrison (39)
AssistsAl Hamilton (50)
PointsJim Harrison (86)
Penalty minutesAl Hamilton (124)
WinsJack Norris (28)
Goals against averageJack Norris (3.06)

The 1972–73 Alberta Oilers season was the Oilers' first season, as one of twelve inaugural franchises of the now-defunct World Hockey Association (WHA). [1][2]

Regular season

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The Oilers victory over the Ottawa Nationals on October 11, 1972, was the first game in league history, with Ron Anderson scoring the first goal.

Jim Harrison led the team in scoring, with 39 goals and 86 points. On January 30, 1973, in an 11–3 defeat of the New York Raiders, Harrison set a major professional hockey record with 10 points (3G, 7A) in a single game. That feat was later matched by Darryl Sittler on February 7, 1976, in a National Hockey League game.

The Oilers posted a winning record in the regular season, with 38 wins, 37 losses and 3 ties. The Minnesota Fighting Saints finished with an identical record, so a single game playoff was contested to decide fourth place in the Western Division. The Fighting Saints defeated the Oilers 4–2 on a neutral site rink (in Calgary), ending the Oilers season.

Season standings

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Playoffs

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The Oilers and the Minnesota Fighting Saints were tied at the end of the season. They had the same number of victories and points, and they had both won four games against each other. Subsequently, it was decided that the two teams would play a one-game playoff to decide the final spot in the playoffs, to be played in Calgary. The Oilers lost the game, and the Fighting Saints went on to play in the Quarterfinals.

1973 Avco Cup Playoffs

Player statistics

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Skaters

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Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties In Minutes

Player Regular season Playoffs
GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
Jim Harrison 66 39 47 86 93 1 0 1 1 2
Al Hamilton 78 11 50 61 124 1 0 0 0 2
Ross Perkins 71 21 37 58 19 1 0 0 0 2
Ed Patenaude 78 29 27 56 59 1 0 1 1 4
Ron Walters 78 28 26 54 37 1 1 0 1 0
Bob Wall 78 16 29 45 20 1 0 1 1 0
Val Fonteyne 77 7 32 39 2 1 0 0 0 0
Eddie Joyal 71 22 16 38 16 1 0 0 0 0
Bill Hicke 73 14 24 38 20 1 0 0 0 0
Brian Carlin 65 12 22 34 6 1 0 0 0 0
Doug Barrie 54 9 22 31 111 1 0 0 0 22
Ron Anderson 73 14 15 29 43 1 0 0 0 0
Ken Baird 75 14 15 29 112 1 1 0 1 6
Bob Falkenberg 77 6 23 29 44 1 0 0 0 0
Steve Carlyle 67 7 10 17 35 1 0 0 0 0
Dennis Kassian 50 6 7 13 14 1 0 1 1 0
Bob McAneeley 51 5 7 12 24
Bernie Blanchette 23 5 4 9 2
Roger Cote 60 3 5 8 46 1 0 0 0 0
John Fisher 40 0 5 5 0
Jack Norris 64 0 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0
Jim Benzelock 26 1 1 2 10
Derek Harker 1 0 0 0 0
Ken Brown 20 0 0 0 2

Denotes player traded to the Oilers mid-season.
Denotes player traded away mid-season.
Statistics for all players reflect only games played with the Oilers.

Goaltenders

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Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player Regular season Playoffs
GP TOI W L T GA SO SV% GAA GP TOI W L GA SO SV% GAA
Jack Norris 64 3705 28 29 3 189 1 0.903 3.06 1 59 0 1 4 0 0.833 4.07
Ken Brown 20 1034 10 8 0 63 1 0.883 3.65

Awards and records

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Four Oilers were selected to play in the mid-season All-Star Game on January 6:

Milestones

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Regular Season
Player Milestone Reached
Ron Anderson 1st WHA Game
1st WHA Goal
1st WHA Point
October 11, 1972
Bill Hicke
Eddie Joyal
Ron Walters
Jim Benzelock 1st WHA Game
Roger Côté
Bob Falkenberg
Dennis Kassian
Ed Patenaude
Ken Brown 1st WHA Game
1st WHA Win
Steve Carlyle 1st WHA Game
1st WHA Assist
1st WHA Point
John Fisher
Val Fonteyne
Al Hamilton
Bob McAneeley
Bob Wall
Jim Harrison 1st WHA Game
1st WHA Goal
1st WHA Assist
1st WHA Point
Jack Norris 1st WHA Game October 13, 1972
Roger Côté 1st WHA Goal
1st WHA Point
October 15, 1972
Val Fonteyne 1st WHA Goal
Eddie Joyal 1st WHA Assist
Ron Walters
Ron Anderson 1st WHA Assist October 17, 1972
Jack Norris 1st WHA Win
Brian Carlin 1st WHA Game October 20, 1972
Bob Falkenberg 1st WHA Assist
1st WHA Point
Ed Patenaude 1st WHA Goal
1st WHA Assist
1st WHA Point
Ron Walters 1st WHA Hat-trick
Brian Carlin 1st WHA Goal
1st WHA Point
October 24, 1972
Bill Hicke 1st WHA Assist
Ross Perkins 1st WHA Game October 27, 1972
Dennis Kassian 1st WHA Goal
1st WHA Point
October 28, 1972
Ross Perkins 1st WHA Assist
1st WHA Point
Ken Baird 1st WHA Assist
1st WHA Point
October 29, 1972
Doug Barrie 1st WHA Game
Ross Perkins 1st WHA Goal
Doug Barrie 1st WHA Goal
1st WHA Point
November 3, 1972
Brian Carlin 1st WHA Assist
Bob Wall 1st WHA Goal
Dennis Kassian 1st WHA Assist November 5, 1972
Doug Barrie
Steve Carlyle 1st WHA Goal November 7, 1972
Al Hamilton
Ken Baird 1st WHA Goal November 9, 1972
Bob Falkenberg 1st WHA Goal November 11, 1972
Jim Benzelock 1st WHA Assist
1st WHA Point
November 25, 1972
Bob McAneeley 1st WHA Goal November 30, 1972
Jim Benzelock 1st WHA Goal December 12, 1972
Roger Côté 1st WHA Assist December 21, 1972
Jim Harrison 1st WHA Gordie Howe hat trick
Ross Perkins 1st WHA Hat-Trick January 1, 1973
Jack Norris 1st WHA Assist January 16, 1973
Jim Harrison 1st WHA Hat-Trick January 30, 1973
Jack Norris 1st WHA Shutout February 9, 1973
Al Hamilton 100th WHA PIM February 27, 1973
Ken Baird 100th WHA PIM March 17, 1973
Ken Brown 1st WHA Shutout
Jim Harrison 2nd WHA Gordie Howe hat trick
Doug Barrie 100th WHA PIM March 28, 1973
Ken Baird 1st WHA Game TBD
Derek Harker
Playoffs
Player Milestone Reached
Ron Anderson 1st WHA Game April 4, 1973
Doug Barrie
Brian Carlin
Steve Carlyle
Roger Côté
Bob Falkenberg
Val Fonteyne
Al Hamilton
Bill Hicke
Eddie Joyal
Jack Norris
Ross Perkins
Ken Baird 1st WHA Game
1st WHA Goal
1st WHA Point
Ron Walters
Jim Harrison 1st WHA Game
1st WHA Assist
1st WHA Point
Dennis Kassian
Ed Patenaude
Bob Wall

Transactions

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Draft picks

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The WHA General Player Draft was held on February 12–13, 1972 to stock each new WHA team with their initial rosters. The Oilers selected four NHL players with their "priority" selections:

Ullman and MacGregor would eventually play for the Oilers, but not for the 1972–73 season. Both were Edmonton-born players who finished their playing careers with the Oilers after long NHL careers.

The Oilers selected an additional 96 players in subsequent rounds of the draft. Of those, 22 players would play for the Oilers, 16 in the 1972–73 season.

Player Pos Team League Joined Oilers
Rounds 1-10
Garnet Bailey LW Boston Bruins NHL 1978–79
Doug Barrie D Los Angeles Kings NHL 1972–73
Ross Perkins C Fort Worth Wings CHL 1972–73
Rounds 11-20
Ron Anderson RW Buffalo Sabres NHL 1972–73
Len Lunde LW Ilves Tampere SM-sarja 1973–74
Rounds 21-50
Ken Baird D California Golden Seals NHL 1972–73
Jim Benzelock RW Dayton Gems IHL 1972–73
Brian Carlin LW Los Angeles Kings NHL 1972–73
Bob Falkenberg D Detroit Red Wings NHL 1972–73
Val Fonteyne LW Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 1972–73
Del Hall LW California Golden Seals NHL 1977–78
Al Hamilton D Buffalo Sabres NHL 1972–73
Eddie Joyal C Philadelphia Flyers NHL 1972–73
Kerry Ketter D Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 1975–76
Barry Long D Portland Buckaroos WHL 1974–75
Glen Sather LW New York Rangers NHL 1976–77
Ron Walters C Tidewater Wings AHL 1972–73
Rounds 51-70
Roger Cote D Cleveland Barons AHL 1972–73
Bob McAneeley LW University of British Columbia CWUAA 1972–73
Ed Patenaude RW Fort Wayne Komets IHL 1972–73
Bob Wall D Detroit Red Wings NHL 1972–73
Rounds 71+
John Fisher C Fort Worth Wings CHL 1972–73

Trades

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Date To Alberta Oilers Traded to Traded for
May 1972 Jim Harrison Calgary Broncos Cash
Dennis Kassian Houston Aeros Cash
June 1972 Future considerations Quebec Nordiques François Lacombe
July 1972 Darryl Sittler
Steve Carlyle
Cleveland Crusaders Jocelyn Hardy
Doug Brindley
Bill Horton
Rich Pumple
August 1972 Jack Norris
Ken Brown
Cleveland Crusaders Bob Whidden
Future considerations Quebec Nordiques John Gravel
Jean-Yves Cartier
September 1972 Cash Ottawa Nationals Gilles Gratton
November 3, 1972 (1972-11-03) Cash Philadelphia Blazers Derek Harker
December 27, 1972 (1972-12-27) Bernie Blanchette Chicago Cougars Jim Benzelock

Free Agents

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Date Player Former team
September 11, 1972 (1972-09-11) Bill Hicke Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)

Signings

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Date Player Term
1972 Len Lunde 2-year
June 6, 1972 (1972-06-06) Doug Barrie
Brian Carlin
Roger Côté
Al Hamilton 5-year
Eddie Joyal 3-year
Ross Perkins 3-year
Bob Wall
June 7, 1972 (1972-06-07) Jim Benzelock 3-year
Bob Falkenberg
June 20, 1972 (1972-06-20) Jim Harrison 4-year
July 6, 1972 (1972-07-06) Ken Baird 3-year
Derek Harker
Bob McAneeley
Ed Patenaude
July 27, 1972 (1972-07-27) Ron Walters
August 4, 1972 (1972-08-04) Ken Brown 3-year
Jack Norris
August 21, 1972 (1972-08-21) Ron Anderson
Steve Carlyle 3-year
September 4, 1972 (1972-09-04) Val Fonteyne 2-year
September 18, 1972 (1972-09-18) Dennis Kassian 2-year
October 1972 John Fisher

References

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  1. ^ World Hockey Association (1972). WHA 1972-73 Media Guide. World Hockey Association.
  2. ^ World Hockey Association (1973). WHA 1973-74 Media Guide. World Hockey Association.