OKLAHOMA CITY , OKLA — Saturday is the unveiling of the NHL Edmonton Oilers AHL team in Oklahoma City. Skilled contract players looking to be called up to the NHL will be the focus of the City’s attention when hockey returns to the Cox Center on Saturday. Edmonton has stocked the Barons roster with players. Young talent, possessing the pedigrees of being NHL draft picks, combined with the coaching tandem of Todd Nelson and Gerry Fleming should prove to be a very exciting and successful inaugural season.
Looking at the 2009-10 AHL Springfield roster, one could speculate who would be assigned to Oklahoma City. More than a dozen players on the Barons opening night roster have experience in Springfield, as does the assistant coach Gerry Fleming.
With an average height of 6-3 and an average weight of 220 pounds, the defense is rather formidable. One of those defenseman who spent time with the Springfield Falcons last season was Jake Taylor. He was also one of the first two players officially signed to a contract to play for the Barons 2010-11 Season.
“Gerry [Fleming] is a defensive coach, plus being a defenseman it is nice to have some familiarity,” Taylor said. Spending most of his past seven seasons with various AHL teams, Taylor knows the AHL league very well. “This is a new team here, a new city and a fresh start, everybody is looking at it as a positive thing,” Taylor said. His play-off experience has been with the Hartford Wolf Pack during the 2005-06 and 2007-08 seasons. “Obviously our goal at the start of the year is to make the play-offs. Hopefully we can get to that point, then having a little bit of experience in the play-offs will help,” Taylor said.
With the coaching staff that knows the NHL system to teach, Taylor was also complimentary of Nelson and Fleming. “Obviously the big thing is: everybody has to buy into what the system is. We have a great coaching staff here, all we have to do is listen to those guys and do what they put into place; bring one-hundred percent effort every day and we should be good,” Taylor said.
It has been 28 years since the City has been home to a team of AHL/IHL caliber. The Boston Bruins placed a farm team in Oklahoma City from 1965 to 1972, followed by the 1973 to 1977 seasons being a farm team for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Minnesota North Stars fielded a team from 1978 to 1981, with the Calgary Flames sending players to Oklahoma City for the 1981-82 season. Since those seasons, numerous players who started their career in Oklahoma City have been either fan favorites or a member of the Builder category of the NHL Hall of Fame.
The player-coach for the 1965-1966 Blazers was Harry Sinden. Another notable hockey “builder” who spent time in Oklahoma City was Glen “Slats” Sather. His legacy in Edmonton and contributions to hockey are significant. The Cox Center is the very building where Dave “Tiger” Williams began his professional career as well as the location where Derek Sanderson made an impression
There is something to be said about witnessing a player start his season with the farm team and be called up to the NHL. With the Barons in town, it is new chapter for Oklahoma City hockey.
Contact the author at gail.hamill@prohockeynews.com
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