The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

team based in

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 an ...

Alberta 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 T ...

, Canada, that play in 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 ...

. As of July 2008, they are owned by

Daryl Katz Daryl Allan Katz (born May 31, 1961) is a Canadian billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Katz is founder and chairman of the Katz Group of Companies, one of Canada's largest privately-owned enterprises, with pharmacy, sports & entertainmen ...

's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the

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 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 Mark Alexander Terrance Pysyk (born January 11, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and forward for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pysyk was originally selected in the first round, 23rd overall, ...

Curtis Lazar Curtis Lazar (born February 2, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the first round (17th overall) of ...

, 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 The 2014 Memorial Cup was a four-team, round-robin format tournament played from May 16–25, 2014 in London, Ontario. It was the 96th Memorial Cup championship and determined the champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The tournament fea ...

, defeating the Guelph Storm in the 2014 Memorial Cup final game.

Franchise history

The newest incarnation of the Oil Kings are the fourth WHL team to play in Edmonton, preceded by the first

Edmonton Oil Kings 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. ...

(1951–76), the second

(1978–79) and the

Edmonton Ice The Edmonton Ice were a junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that played two seasons in the Western Hockey League from 1996 to 1998. History The WHL expanded to Edmonton in 1996, and the Ice began play at the Northlands Agri ...

(1996–98). The original Edmonton Oil Kings were a junior hockey team that played in the original

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 ...

from 1951 to 1956. They then played with the senior amateur

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 ...

from 1956 to 1965, winning the

1963 Memorial Cup The 1963 Memorial Cup final was the 45th junior ice hockey championship of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA). The George Richardson Memorial Trophy champions Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association in Eastern Canada ...

. They joined the Alberta Senior Hockey League for the 1965–66 season, prior to jumping to the new

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 The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

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. The original Oil Kings 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 ...

in 1976, becoming the Portland Winter Hawks. 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. The second Oil Kings relocated again to become the Great Falls Americans, where the team would only last 28 more games before folding. Despite the long-held belief that major-junior hockey could not survive against the pros, the WHL returned to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

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

, blocking them from playing in

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) a ...

, thus relegating them to the substandard Northlands Agricom. The Ice relocated to

Cranbrook, British Columbia Cranbrook ( ) is a city in southeast British Columbia, Canada, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary's River. It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the East Kootenay. As of 2016, Cra ...

, becoming the Kootenay Ice, after two underwhelming seasons.

"Return of the Kings"

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. With no takers, and with the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

looming, the Oilers chose to relocate their AHL team to Rexall Place as the

Edmonton Roadrunners The Edmonton Road Runners were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at Rexall Place. History After the 2003–04 season the Edmonton Oilers announced that the Toronto Roadrunners would play t ...

. 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. When the sale of the

Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are a major junior ice hockey team of the Western Hockey League, based in Kennewick, Washington. The team plays its home games at Toyota Center. Every game is broadcast locally on the Tri-City Americans' flagship radio s ...

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 The Chilliwack Bruins were a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. The 2006–07 season marked the Bruins' inaugural season in the WHL. The team played at Prospera Cent ...

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. The team began play in the

2007–08 WHL season The 2007–08 WHL season was the 42nd season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The regular season began on September 20, 2007, and ended on March 16, 2008. The WHL Playoffs began on March 21, 2008, and ended on May 7, 2008. A new expansion team ...

and finished with a record of 22–39–11, good for 55 points, but not enough to make the playoffs. 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 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and

s. 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 The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

champion Guelph Storm by a score of 6–3. In 2022, the Oil Kings won their 3rd Ed Chynoweth Cup by the Seattle Thunderbirds in six games earning them an appearance at the

2022 Memorial Cup The 2022 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2022 Memorial Cup presented by Kia for sponsorship reasons) was a four-team round-robin format ice hockey tournament held at TD Station in Saint John, New Brunswick from June 20–29, 2022. It was the 102 ...

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''

WHL Championship history

* 2011–12: Win, 4–3 vs Portland * 2012–13: Loss, 2–4 vs Portland * 2013–14: Win, 4–3 vs Portland * 2021–22: Win, 4–2 vs

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

Memorial Cup Final history

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

: Win, 6–3 vs

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

( OHL) * 2022: Eliminated in round-robin

Current roster

Updated January 1, 2023.

WHL awards and trophies

Ed Chynoweth Cup * 2011–12, 2013–14, 2021–22

Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy The Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the regular season champion of the Western Hockey League. It is named after one of the league's founders, Scotty Munro. Munro served as the general manager of the Estevan Bruins, and later ...

* 2011–12,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy *

Dylan Guenther Dylan Guenther (born April 10, 2003) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger for the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected ...

: 2019–20 WHL Plus-Minus Award *

Ashton Sautner Ashton Sautner (born May 27, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing for the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League ...

: 2013–14

Brad Hornung Trophy The Brad Hornung Trophy is awarded annually to the most sportsmanlike player of the Western Hockey League. First presented in 1967, it was later renamed in honour of former Regina Pats player Brad Hornung who was paralyzed during a game on March 1, ...

* Dylan Wruck: 2012–13

Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy *

Brad Lauer Brad R. Lauer (born October 27, 1966) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He is currently an associate coach of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lauer previously served as the head coach ...

: 2019–20

Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy The Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the top executive in the Western Hockey League. It is named for former broadcaster Lloyd Saunders. Winners See also *OHL Executive of the Year * John Horman Trophy - Quebec Major Junior ...

* Bob Green: 2011–12, 2012–13

St. Clair Group Trophy The St. Clair Group Trophy is awarded annually by the Western Hockey League to its top public relations and marketing personnel. It has been handed out since 1989–90 WHL season, 1989–90. List of winners References

{{WHL Western Hockey ...

* 2018–19

Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy The Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the Western Hockey League humanitarian of the year. The winner is the player who best shows a commitment to his community and to humanitarian values. The award received its current ...

* Will Warm: 2018–19 * Luke Prokop: 2021–22 WHL Playoff MVP * Laurent Brossoit: 2011–12 * Griffin Reinhart: 2013–14 *

Kaiden Guhle Kaiden Guhle ( ; born January 18, 2002) is a Canadian ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 16th overall by the Canadiens in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Early life ...

: 2021–22

Memorial Cup trophies

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 ...

Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy * Edgars Kulda:

Ed Chynoweth Trophy * Henrik Samuelsson:

George Parsons Trophy *

NHL alumni

NHL 1st round draft picks * 2010 NHL Entry Draft –

#23 Overall (

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, alon ...

) *

2012 NHL Entry Draft The 2012 NHL Entry Draft was the 50th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held June 22–23, 2012, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first time that Pittsburgh hosted the draft since the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. ...

– Griffin Reinhart #4 Overall (

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

) *2012 NHL Entry Draft – Henrik Samuelsson #27 Overall (

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

) * 2013 NHL Entry Draft –

#17 Overall (

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

) *

2020 NHL Entry Draft The 2020 NHL Entry Draft was the 58th NHL Entry Draft, held from October 6–7, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 ...

– Jake Neighbours #26 Overall (

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

) *

2021 NHL Entry Draft The 2021 NHL Entry Draft was the 59th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on July 23–24, 2021, delayed by one month from its normally scheduled time of June due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the later-than-normal finish of the 2020–21 NHL se ...

–

#9 Overall (Arizona Coyotes) *2021 NHL Entry Draft –

Sebastian Cossa Sebastian Cossa (born November 21, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL as a prospect for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 15th overall by the Red Wing ...

#15 Overall (

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

)

Notes

External links

Official website of the Edmonton Oil KingsOfficial website of the Western Hockey LeagueOfficial website of the Canadian Hockey LeagueArticle about team's return
( TSN) {{Navboxes, titlestyle=background: #00539c; color: #ffc526, list1= {{Edmonton Oil Kings {{Katz Group {{WHL {{Alberta Sports 2007 establishments in Alberta Ice hockey clubs established in 2007 Ice hockey teams in Alberta Oil Western Hockey League teams Oilers Entertainment Group