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Edmonton Oil Kings

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This article is about the current team that began play in 2007. For the original Oil Kings franchises that existed until 1978, see Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL).
Edmonton Oil Kings
CityEdmonton, Alberta, Canada
LeagueWestern Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionCentral
FoundedMarch 16, 2006 (2006-03-16)
Home arenaRogers Place
ColoursRed, Royal Blue, gold, white
       
Owner(s)Oilers Entertainment Group
(Daryl Katz, Katz Group)
General managerKirt Hill[1]
Head coachBrad Lauer
CaptainScott Atkinson
Websitewww.oilkings.ca
Championships
Playoff championshipsEd Chynoweth Cup
2 (2012, 2014)
Memorial Cup
1 (2014)

The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that play in the Western Hockey League. As of July 2008, they are owned by Daryl Katz's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers.[2] The 2007–08 season was the newest incarnation of the Oil Kings' inaugural season in the Western Hockey League. Some NHL alumni include Tomas Vincour, Mark Pysyk, Curtis Lazar, Keegan Lowe, Griffin Reinhart, Henrik Samuelsson, Laurent Brossoit, Tristan Jarry and David Musil. As the 2012 WHL champions, the Oil Kings played in the 2012 Memorial Cup, losing 6–1 against the eventual winning team, the Shawinigan Cataractes, in the playoff tie-breaker. The Oil Kings won the 2014 Memorial Cup, defeating the Guelph Storm in the 2014 Memorial Cup final game.

Franchise history

Alternate logo introduced in 2013

The newest incarnation of the Oil Kings are the fourth WHL team to play in Edmonton, preceded by the first Edmonton Oil Kings (1951–76), the second Edmonton Oil Kings (1978–79) and the Edmonton Ice (1996–98).[citation needed]

The original Edmonton Oil Kings were a junior hockey team that played in the Western Canada Junior Hockey League from 1951 to 1956. They then played with the senior amateur Central Alberta Hockey League from 1956 to 1965, winning the 1963 Memorial Cup. They joined the Alberta Senior Hockey League for the 1965–66 season,[3] prior to jumping to the new Western Canada Junior Hockey League in 1966. The Oil Kings were also initially successful in the WCHL, capturing two President's Cup titles. However, with the arrival of the World Hockey Association and the Oilers in 1972, the junior club's attendance began to plummet. Approximately 150,000 fans went to Oil Kings games in 1971–72. That number dropped to 90,000 the next year, and 68,000 the following year.[4] The original Oil Kings moved to Portland, Oregon in 1976, becoming the Portland Winter Hawks.[citation needed]

An attempt at reviving the Oil Kings in 1978 lasted only one season, as the juniors were once again unable to compete with the pros. Bill Hunter purchased the Flin Flon Bombers and brought them to Alberta's capital. However, the team only averaged about 500 fans per game, and rumours that the team would again relocate began to swirl before the first season was even complete.[5] The second Oil Kings relocated again to become the Great Falls Americans, where the team would only last 28 more games before folding.[citation needed]

Despite the long-held belief that major-junior hockey could not survive against the pros, the WHL returned to Calgary in 1995, and Edmonton in 1996. At the time, the Oilers were struggling on the ice, as well as attendance. The Oilers refused to work with the Edmonton Ice, blocking them from playing in Northlands Coliseum, thus relegating them to the substandard Northlands Agricom. The Ice relocated to Cranbrook, British Columbia, becoming the Kootenay Ice, after two underwhelming seasons.[citation needed]

"Return of the Kings"

The Oil Kings face the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL's Battle of Alberta.

With the Flames owned Hitmen leading the WHL in attendance the past four seasons, and the Vancouver Giants also proving to be a major success at the gate, the Oilers ownership group had spent the last three years attempting to purchase a WHL team, even going so far as to put out an open offer of $5 million - well over market value - for any WHL franchise in 2004.[6] With no takers, and with the 2004–05 NHL lockout looming, the Oilers chose to relocate their AHL team to Rexall Place as the Edmonton Roadrunners. Despite finishing third in the AHL in attendance, and having publicly promised to operate the team in Edmonton for at least three seasons, the Oilers suspended the Roadrunners after only one season rather than have their minor league team competing against themselves. The Oilers then resumed their quest for a WHL team.[citation needed]

When the sale of the Tri-City Americans to Chilliwack, British Columbia failed, the WHL placed an expansion team in Chilliwack, and the door for Edmonton was finally reopened. While the league had previously refused to consider further expansion, believing 20 teams was enough, the addition of the Chilliwack Bruins left the league with an odd number of franchises. Preferring an even number of teams, the league announced its return to Edmonton on March 16, 2006 with the granting of a conditional expansion franchise, named the Edmonton Oil Kings in homage to the former franchise.[citation needed]

The team began play in the 2007–08 WHL season and finished with a record of 22–39–11, good for 55 points, but not enough to make the playoffs.[citation needed]

The Oil Kings most recently captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup twice as victors of the WHL playoffs for the 2011–12 and 2013–14 WHL seasons, earning berths to the 2012 and 2014 Memorial Cups. On May 25, 2014 the Oil Kings won the franchise's third, first for the reborn team, Memorial Cup after defeating the Ontario Hockey League champion Guelph Storm by a score of 6–3.[citation needed]

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL = Shootout losses Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L OTL SOL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
2007–08 72 22 39 4 7 162 241 55 5th Central Out of playoffs
2008–09 72 29 34 4 5 191 252 67 5th Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2009–10 72 16 43 4 9 169 285 45 6th Central Out of playoffs
2010–11 72 31 34 2 5 249 252 69 4th Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2011–12 72 50 15 3 4 310 193 107 1st Central Won Championship
2012–13 72 51 15 2 4 278 155 108 1st Central Lost final
2013–14 72 50 19 2 1 290 179 103 1st Central Won Championship
Won Memorial Cup
2014–15 72 34 31 4 3 217 204 75 5th Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2015–16 72 29 36 6 1 197 238 65 4th Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2016–17 72 23 43 5 1 193 292 52 5th Central Out of playoffs
2017–18 72 22 42 6 2 204 315 52 6th Central Out of playoffs
2018–19 68 42 18 4 4 259 196 92 1st Central Lost Eastern Conference final
2019–20 64 42 12 6 4 239 167 94 1st Central Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

WHL Championship history

Memorial Cup Final history

Current roster

Updated January 25, 2021.[7]
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WHL awards and trophies

Memorial Cup trophies

NHL alumni

NHL 1st round draft picks

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Kirt Hill Named Oil Kings President of Hockey Operations and General Manager". OurSportsCentral.com. June 27, 2018.
  2. ^ "Oil Kings Welcome New Owner". Official website of the Edmonton Oil Kings. 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2008-08-30. [dead link‍]
  3. ^ http://www.hockeydb.com/stte/edmonton-oil-kings-5625.html
  4. ^ Official WHL Website ::
  5. ^ Official WHL Website ::
  6. ^ Brownlee, Robin (2005-04-16). "What the WHL?". Canoe Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
  7. ^ WHL Network, Western Hockey League, archived from the original on 2012-06-30, retrieved 2020-10-07
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