The Edmonton Oil Kings were a Canadian

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

team, and founding member of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

. They played at

Edmonton Gardens The Edmonton Gardens was the first indoor hockey arena built in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was originally built as Edmonton Stock Pavilion in 1913, and held 5,200 spectators after its 1966 renovations. It was home to the World Hockey Associat ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta, and later

Northlands Coliseum Northlands Coliseum is a now-unused indoor arena located in Edmonton, Alberta, situated on the north side of Northlands. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and N ...

. In 1976, they moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

to become the

Portland Winter Hawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon, playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL), one of three leagues making up the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Prior to the 2021-22 season, the Winterhawks split the ...

. A second incarnation of the team played only one season in 1977–78 before moving to

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

Foundation of the Oil Kings

The

Alberta Amateur Hockey Association Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...

(AAHA) sought to combine the best players from the Edmonton Junior Hockey League into a

Western Canada Junior Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WCJHL) team. 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 won the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

in 1963 and 1966 as members of the senior men's

Central Alberta Hockey League The Central Alberta Hockey League (CAHL) is a defunct senior amateur hockey league that operated in Alberta, Canada from 1956 to 1966. The creation of the CAHL coincided with the folding of the original Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL). ...

. The team was required to defeat the

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The reg ...

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 Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. 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 The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years of ...

caused several of its top clubs, the Estevan Bruins,

Regina Pats Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * R ...

Saskatoon Blades The Saskatoon Blades are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Eastern Division of the Western Hockey League, formerly the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL). They are based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, playing at the 15,195-seat SaskTe ...

Moose Jaw Canucks The Moose Jaw Canucks were a junior ice hockey team based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. They were one of the founding members of the ''Western Canada Junior Hockey League'' (known today as the Western Hockey League) in 1966 following a rebell ...

and

Weyburn Red Wings The Weyburn Red Wings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Weyburn, Saskatchewan playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). They play their home games at the Crescent Point Place, which has a seating capacity of 1,750. ...

, 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 Calgary Centennials were a junior ice hockey team that played in the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) from 1966–1977. They played in Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the Stampede Corral. History A charter member of the Canadian Major Junio ...

. The Oil Kings captured back to back

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

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 Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. The Oil Kings moved to

in 1976, to become the

. There was a second Edmonton Oil Kings hockey team in the WHL that played only one season. The

Flin Flon Bombers The Flin Flon Bombers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in Flin Flon, a city located on the Manitoba-Saskatchewan provincial border. The Bombers are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), which is a member of the Canadian ...

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 The Great Falls Americans are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey team from Great Falls, Montana, playing at the Great Falls IcePlex in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The players, ages 16–20, carry amateur status ...

, 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:

* 1956–66:

* 1966–76:

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria C ...

* 1978–79:

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)

Central Alberta Hockey League (1956–66)

During this period the Oil Kings were a junior team playing their regular season in the senior-aged

. During the 1963–64 season, the Oil Kings also played an interlocking schedule of 14 games total against the seven teams in the original

. The results for the 1964–65 and 1965–66 CAHL regular seasons are unavailable.

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria C ...
(1966–77)

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...
(1978–79)

NHL alumni

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

Bryan Hextall Bryan Aldwyn Hextall (July 31, 1913 – July 25, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the top wingers of the 1940s, he led the NHL in goal ...

(player, 1969 induction) *

Johnny Bucyk John Paul Bucyk (born May 12, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Having played most of his career with the Boston Bruins, he has been associated in one capacity or another with the ...

(player, 1981 induction) *

Norm Ullman Norman Victor Alexander Ullman (born December 26, 1935) is a former ice hockey forward. He previously played for the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in ...

(player, 1982 induction) *

Glen Sather Glen Cameron “Slats” Sather (born September 2, 1943) is a Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive. He is the current senior advisor and alternate governor of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the Rangers ...

(builder, 1997 induction) NHL 1st round draft picks * 1969 NHL Amateur Draft -

Frank Spring Franklin Patrick Spring (born October 19, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 61 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) and 13 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He was born in Rossland, British Colu ...

#4 Overall (

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

) * 1971 NHL Amateur Draft - Ron Jones #6 Overall (Boston Bruins) *1971 NHL Amateur Draft -

Dan Spring Dan Spring (1 July 1910 – 1 January 1988) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North constituency from 1943 to 1981. He was a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Local Government fr ...

#12 Overall (

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) * 1972 NHL Amateur Draft - Phil Russell #13 Overall (Chicago Black Hawks) * 1973 NHL Amateur Draft -

Darcy Rota Darcy Irwin Rota (born February 16, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent eleven seasons in the National Hockey League. Playing career Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Darcy's formative years including Bantam ...

#13 Overall (Chicago Black Hawks) *

1975 NHL Amateur Draft The 1975 NHL Amateur Draft was the 13th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers made the most noise at the draft, trading Bill Clement, Don McLean, and t ...

Robin Sadler Robin Sadler (born March 31, 1955) is a Canadian and Austrian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted in the first round, ninth overall, of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft by the Montreal Canadiens; in addition, he was drafted in the ...

#9 Overall (

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

)

References

External links

Oil Kings Heritage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmonton Oil Kings (Wchl) * Defunct ice hockey teams in Alberta Oil Kings Ice hockey clubs established in 1951 Defunct Western Hockey League teams 1951 establishments in Alberta 1979 disestablishments in Alberta Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1979