The Oklahoma City Blazers were a professional

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 hock ...

team that was based in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. They competed in the

Central Professional Hockey League The Central Professional Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league that operated in the United States from 1963 to 1984. Named the Central Hockey League for the 1968–69 season and forward, it was owned and operated by the Natio ...

from 1965 to 1977. The team played their home games in the

Fairgrounds Arena Jim Norick Arena (formerly Fairgrounds Arena) is a large multi-purpose arena located at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Completed in 1965 at a cost of $2.4 million, it was the largest indoor facility in Oklahoma City until the constru ...

, and later in The Myriad. This team was created through the relocation of the

Minneapolis Bruins The Minneapolis Bruins were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Central Professional Hockey League (CPHL) from 1963 to 1965. The Bruins were one of the original five teams to enter the newly formed CPHL. Minneapolis operated as a fa ...

, who began play in 1963 after originating as the

Kingston Frontenacs The Kingston Frontenacs are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The Frontenacs play home games at Leon's Centre, which opened in 2008. Team history predates the OHA, back to 1945, to a te ...

of the defunct Eastern Professional Hockey League. Initially they were a

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 ...

farm team. The first coach was

Harry Sinden Harry James Sinden (born September 14, 1932) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He served as a coach, general manager, and team president for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was the coach of T ...

, and NHL stars

Bernie Parent Bernard Marcel Parent (born April 3, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 13 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs, and also spent one seaso ...

Gerry Cheevers Gerald Michael "Cheesie" Cheevers (born 7 December 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1961 and 1980. Cheevers is best known for ...

Doug Favell Douglas Robert Favell (born April 5, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and former box lacrosse player. Favell played in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Rockies. ...

Reggie Leach Reginald Joseph Leach (born April 23, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, California Golden Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, and Detroit Red ...

Rick MacLeish Richard George MacLeish (January 3, 1950 – May 30, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit ...

Wayne Cashman Wayne Cashman (born June 24, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played seventeen seasons for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) and helped them win the Stanley Cup twice, and was the last ac ...

Ivan Boldirev Ivan Boldirev (Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Болдирев; born August 15, 1949) is a Serbian Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Boldirev played fifteen seasons and over 1000 games in the NHL from 1970 through 1985. Boldirev was not ...

, J. P. Parise,

Ross Lonsberry David Ross Lonsberry (February 7, 1947 – May 4, 2014) was a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Philade ...

Dallas Smith Dallas Hendry Smith (born December 4, 1977) is a Canadian singer and songwriter, who performs both as a solo country music artist and as lead singer for the hard rock band Default. He is currently signed to Big Loud Records. Smith is the curre ...

Bill Goldsworthy William Alfred Goldsworthy (August 24, 1944 – March 29, 1996) was a professional ice hockey right winger who played for three teams in the National Hockey League for 14 seasons between 1964 and 1978, mostly with the Minnesota North Stars. He r ...

and

Jean Pronovost Jean Joseph Denis Pronovost (born December 18, 1945) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Flames and Washington Capitals. Biography He was a ...

played for the Blazers. The Bruins withdrew from the team in 1972, but after a season without hockey, Maple Leaf Gardens Limited announced that they would relocate their

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

club of the CHL to become the reborn Oklahoma City Blazers, with Tulsa getting a replacement independent team. From 1973 to 1976 the team was affiliated with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

and their roster included

Mike Palmateer Michael Scott Palmateer (born January 13, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goalie. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1976 to 1984 for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals. Playing career As a yout ...

Blaine Stoughton Blaine A. Stoughton (born March 13, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played twelve professional seasons. Stoughton played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple L ...

Pat Boutette Patrick Michael Boutette (born March 1, 1952) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Hartford Whalers, and Pittsburgh Penguins between 1975 and 1985. International ...

and all-time NHL penalty leader

Dave "Tiger" Williams David James "Tiger" Williams (born February 3, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from the 1974–75 NHL season to the 1987–88 NHL season. He is the NHL's career leader in p ...

. Prior to the 1976-77 season the Maple Leafs decided to share the

Dallas Black Hawks The Dallas Black Hawks were a minor-league professional ice hockey team in Dallas, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was a member of the Central Hockey League and played home games at State Fair Coliseum. Origins and relocation to Dallas The Blac ...

of the CHL with the

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 ...

as their affiliate, in an attempt to reduce costs.

Gregg Sheppard Gregory Wayne Sheppard (born April 23, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who most notably played for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. He played in three Stanley Cup Finals with the Bruins (1974, 1977, 19 ...

was the franchise's leading career scorer. Their home arenas were the

and the Myriad Convention Center Arena. The Blazers won the CHL championship in 1966 under player-coach

and repeated in 1967. John Brooks, sports director of the local CBS TV affiliate

KWTV KWTV-DT (channel 9) is a television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is the flagship broadcast property of locally based Griffin Media, and is co-owned with MyNetworkTV affiliate KSBI (channel 52). Bot ...

Channel 9 and radio play-by-play voice for high-profile University of Oklahoma football and men's basketball from 1978 to 1992, was the on-air voice of the original Blazers in the 1960s and 1970s. His catch phrase for Blazers same-day game radio ads was "Let's play hockey... TONIGHT!"

References

Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Central Professional Hockey League teams Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Toronto Maple Leafs minor league affiliates Boston Bruins minor league affiliates 1965 establishments in Oklahoma 1977 disestablishments in Oklahoma Ice hockey teams in Oklahoma Sports in Oklahoma City Ice hockey clubs established in 1965 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1977 {{OklahomaCity-stub