The Edmonton Oil Kings were a Canadian junior ice hockey team, and founding member of the Western Hockey League. They played at Edmonton Gardens in Edmonton, Alberta, and later Northlands Coliseum. In 1976, they moved to Portland, Oregon to become the Portland Winter Hawks. A second incarnation of the team played only one season in 1977–78 before moving to Great Falls, Montana.
Foundation of the Oil Kings The Alberta Amateur Hockey Association (AAHA) sought to combine the best players from the Edmonton Junior Hockey League into a Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL) team. Leo LeClerc became the general manager in 1949, and led the team to its first Memorial Cup win in 1963. An Edmonton team was formed for the 1950–51 season, but was denied entry since the WCJHL had already made its schedule. In response, the AAHA threatened not to sanction the other four Alberta-based teams in the league, but recanted and sought exhibition games for the Edmonton team.; ; When players from Edmonton were added to the rosters of WCJHL teams, AAHA vice-president Art Potter stated that the players had not been released and faced suspension for not honouring commitments. After the players returned, Potter announced the team would be known as the Edmonton Oil Kings and play an exhibition schedule versus WCJHL teams.
Franchise history The Edmonton Oil Kings were finalists in the 1954 Memorial Cup losing to the St. Catharines Teepees in five games; in the 1960 Memorial Cup losing to St. Catharines in six games; and were finalists in the 1962 Memorial Cup losing to the Hamilton Red Wings in five games. The Oil Kings won the Memorial Cup in 1963 and 1966 as members of the senior men's Central Alberta Hockey League. The team was required to defeat the Alberta Junior Hockey League champion to earn the right to play for the national junior championship. They were also cup finalists seven different years between 1954 and 1971.
In 1966, Bill Hunter, the team's General Manager, was concerned about the state of junior hockey in western Canada. Each of the west's four provinces all had their own junior league, and Hunter felt that this put them at a disadvantage when competing nationally against the powerful leagues in Ontario and Quebec. Hunter hoped to form a unified western league to compete.
Hunter's hopes became reality in the summer of 1966, when a revolt within the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League caused several of its top clubs, the Estevan Bruins, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Moose Jaw Canucks and Weyburn Red Wings, to leave the league and join Hunter's Oil Kings in forming a new league. A seventh franchise was also added in Calgary, the Calgary Buffaloes.
The Oil Kings captured back to back President's Cup titles in 1971 and 1972, however it would prove to be the final titles in the celebrated franchise's history, as the Oil Kings found it difficult to compete with the lure of pro hockey provided by the WHA's Edmonton Oilers. The Oil Kings moved to Portland, Oregon in 1976, to become the Portland Winter Hawks.
There was a second Edmonton Oil Kings hockey team in the WHL that played only one season. The Flin Flon Bombers moved to Edmonton for the 1978–79 WHL season, but only survived one year and moved on to Great Falls. The team folded as the Great Falls Americans, then was revived as the Spokane Flyers for two seasons before folding for good.
A new WHL team began play in Edmonton in 2007–08, reviving the Oil Kings name.
League membership The Oil Kings played in the following leagues during its existence: 1951–56: Western Canada Junior Hockey League 1956–66: Central Alberta Hockey League 1966–76: Western Canada Hockey League 1978–79: Western Hockey League
Season-by-season record Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Western Canada Junior Hockey League (1951–56) Season GP W L T Pts GF GA Finish League Playoffs Memorial Cup 1951–52 44 29 14 1 59 - - 2nd Lost final 1952–53 36 28 6 2 58 218 97 1st Lost final 1953–54 36 33 3 0 55 263 84 1st Won Championship Lost Memorial Cup final 1954–55 40 23 16 1 47 173 115 3rd Lost semi-final 1955–56 36 17 19 0 34 150 143 3rd Lost semi-final
Central Alberta Hockey League (1956–66) Season GP W L T Pts GF GA Finish League Playoffs Memorial Cup 1956–57 40 24 16 0 48 - - 2nd Lost semi-final Lost Western semi-final 1957–58 40 20 19 1 41 161 164 3rd Lost semi-final Lost Western semi-final 1958–59 40 13 26 1 27 - - 4th Lost semi-final Lost Western semi-final 1959–60 30 12 18 0 24 157 171 4th Lost final Lost Memorial Cup final 1960–61 30 12 18 0 24 - - 4th out of playoffs Lost Memorial Cup final 1961–62 34 14 17 3 31 - - 5th out of playoffs Lost Memorial Cup final 1962–63 34 21 12 1 43 - - 1st Lost final Memorial Cup Champion 1963–64 40 31 8 1 63 - - 1st Lost semi-final Lost Memorial Cup final 1964–65 - - - - - - - - out of playoffs Lost Memorial Cup final 1965–66 - - - - - - - - Co-Champion Memorial Cup Champion
During this period the Oil Kings were a junior team playing their regular season in the senior-aged Central Alberta Hockey League. During the 1963–64 season, the Oil Kings also played an interlocking schedule of 14 games total against the seven teams in the original Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The results for the 1964–65 and 1965–66 CAHL regular seasons are unavailable.
Western Canada Hockey League (1966–77) Season GP W L T Pts GF GA Finish League Playoffs Memorial Cup 1966–67 56 34 12 10 78 281 188 1st Overall Lost semi-final 1967–68 60 38 16 6 82 303 194 3rd Overall Lost semi-final 1968–69 60 33 25 2 68 229 206 1st West Lost final 1969–70 60 35 25 0 70 254 217 2nd West Lost final 1970–71 66 45 20 1 91 346 258 1st West Won Championship Lost Cup final 1971–72 68 44 22 2 90 320 246 2nd West Won Championship Lost Cup round robin 1972–73 68 40 20 8 88 311 240 1st West Lost semi-final 1973–74 68 25 36 7 57 252 301 4th West Lost quarter-final 1974–75 70 34 29 7 75 340 321 5th West Out of playoffs 1975–76 72 25 42 5 55 312 400 5th West Lost preliminary round
Western Hockey League (1978–79) Season GP W L T Pts GF GA Finish League Playoffs Memorial Cup 1978–79 72 17 43 12 46 288 403 3rd East Eliminated in round robin
NHL alumni
Hockey Hall of Fame Bryan Hextall (player, 1969 induction) Johnny Bucyk (player, 1981 induction) Norm Ullman (player, 1982 induction) Glen Sather (builder, 1997 induction)
NHL 1st round draft picks 1969 NHL Amateur Draft - Frank Spring #4 Overall (Boston Bruins) 1971 NHL Amateur Draft - Ron Jones #6 Overall (Boston Bruins) 1971 NHL Amateur Draft - Dan Spring #12 Overall (Chicago Black Hawks) 1972 NHL Amateur Draft - Phil Russell #13 Overall (Chicago Black Hawks) 1973 NHL Amateur Draft - Darcy Rota #13 Overall (Chicago Black Hawks) 1975 NHL Amateur Draft - Robin Sadler #9 Overall (Montreal Canadiens)
See also List of ice hockey teams in Alberta
References
External links Oil Kings Heritage