Tulsa Oilers Affiliate with Winnipeg Jets
The Tulsa Oilers have found an NHL affiliate for the first time since 2010. The Oilers have partnered with the Winnipeg Jets along with the American Hockey League team Manitoba Moose.
The last time the Oilers were an NHL affiliate was in 2010 when they were with the Colorado Avalanche.
Tulsa has worked with the Jets of the past, with the Oklahoma city hosting the AHL club for Winnipeg from 1979 until 1982. This of course was the old Jets franchise, who are currently the Arizona Coyotes. The current Jets are the former Atlanta Thrashers.
“Tulsa is an organization that shares our level of commitment to success and we look forward to working together to provide our players’ opportunities to further develop themselves on and off the ice,” Jets assistant general manager Craig Heisinger said in a press release. “We are particularly excited to continue our relationship with Head Coach Jason Christie who has been an integral component of some of our prospects development in the past.”
The newly announced head coach of the Oilers, Jason Christie, has ties with the Jets organization. Christie played in 88 games with the Manitoba Moose in the late 1990s and he coached with the Ontario Reign during 2013-2014 who were then the Jets ECHL affiliate. He was also an AHL assistant coach in 2010 with the Chicago Wolves under current Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.
“We are thrilled to enter into this partnership with the Jets and the Moose,” Taylor Hall, GM of the Oilers, said in a press release. “Both teams are first-class organizations that share our commitment to winning and not only is this an exciting day for our fans, but it is also an important day for our players who want to continue their development and succeed at the next level.”
The Oilers played in the Central Hockey League for 22 years before joining the ECHL. They had a successful season where they made the Kelly Cup playoffs in 2014-2015 where they fell to the eventual Western conference champion Allen Americans.