Change is good

Optimism surrounds the Oilers as new head coach sets tone for the season

After back-to-back disappointing seasons that saw them collapse down the stretch and miss the playoffs, the Tulsa Oilers made significant off-season changes to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

The Oilers began their fourth season in the ECHL, and 66th overall, on October 13 against the Kansas City Mavericks at the BOK Center, with a new buzz of optimism surrounding the club.

Out is former coach Jason Christie and the affiliation with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL). Setting a new tone for the organization is head coach and Director of Hockey Operations Rob Murray.

Murray boasts an outstanding resume, both as a player and a coach. He played 109 NHL games over the course of a 16-year professional career, most of which was spent in the top-rung AHL, where he is in the Hall of Fame. He has also been a head coach and an assistant in the AHL and spent the previous six years coaching the ECHL’s Alaska Aces, where he won the Kelly Cup championship in 2014.

When Alaska ceased operations following last season, Murray became available and was hired June 7.

Murray was instrumental in establishing a new affiliation with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, one that has already seen three promising young players (defensemen Tommy Vanelli and Dmitrii Sergeev and forward Justin Selman) assigned to Tulsa to start the season.

“We’re very fortunate to get a guy with the kind of experience that Rob brings to the table,” Oilers General Manager Taylor Hall said. “Honestly, if it wasn’t for the Alaska team not playing this year, we would have never had a shot because he would still be employed there. He’s been doing a great job. Every day, I pinch myself saying, ‘We’re very lucky to have him.’ He was pretty much the main reason why we got the affiliation with the Blues … Rob had the opportunity to be at their training camp, and got our whole hockey operations staff up there, learning from all the big league guys. It’s really been nice to have a team give the support like the Blues have, and Rob deserves all the credit for that.”

On the ice, Murray expects to employ a swift-skating, aggressive offensive style that should be exciting to watch.

“I want a team that’s going to play a fast-paced game, in your face, relentless on the puck,” Murray said. “It might waver from game to game, depending on the structure of the lineup, but that’s what I want. I want us to play a fast pace, be a hard fore-checking team. We’ve got to be physical, obviously—it’s the game of hockey, but I don’t need to dress a guy to sit on the bench and go out and fight every night. I need somebody that can play the game and if something was to happen, we need team toughness and everybody to step up for each other.”

There are several players back from last season’s team, led by fifth-year veteran forward Adam Pleskach, who scored 13 goals and 26 points in 50 games in 2016–17. Pleskach pointed out that it’s been a learning process as the players adjust to new teammates and Murray’s new system.

“It’s going good. The systems are quite a bit different,” Pleskach said. “That’s not a problem, though, for most guys. Just the personality change—he’s my third coach I’ve had since I’ve been here and it’s been a pretty big change every time. We have guys who are on contract to the NHL, and he’s trying to keep it as close as possible to the systems in St. Louis. That’s probably why there’s the biggest difference, because last year, we were playing Winnipeg’s systems a little bit more.”

Also back from last season are defensemen Dennis Brown, Eric Drapluk, and Chris Joyaux, and forward Christophe Lalancette.

The Oilers’ new number one goaltender is Jake Hildebrand, who played for the Indy Fuel last season and helped the Allen Americans win the 2016 Kelly Cup.

“I’m really pleased with our goaltending. We’ve got eight strong defensemen. Quite honestly, there’s going to be some decisions to be made as far as the lineup goes,” Murray said. “We’ve got some really good players up front, also. It’s not an easy decision on who’s going to play. Sometimes that takes care of itself on its own, so don’t really need to worry about it. As people say, it’s a good problem to have.”

The Oilers’ next home game is Wednesday, October 25 at 7:05 p.m. against the Wichita Thunder. Tickets at tulsaoilers.com.