This is the challenge facing the new coach of the Tulsa Oilers, Bruce Ramsay. But if the season opener against the Mississippi RiverKings is any indication of things to come, Ramsay may have started the team in the right direction.
The Oilers, an 18-38-8 team (worst in the Central Hockey League) last season, defeated the RiverKings by a score of 6-3, which included a hat trick by center Rob Hisey.
Ramsay assumed command during the summer after the Oilers front office were unable to come to terms with the man who had coached the team through the end of last season, Tony Martino.
He comes to
With the signing of the new coach, the cobbling of the 18th volume of the modern era Tulsa Oilers began and Ramsay went right to work re-building a new and improved Oilers team.
One of his more significant signings was that of Rick Kozak. The 6-3, 220 pound
A returning Oilers standout is forward Michel Beausoleil. Beausoliel played in 63 games last season and scored 61 points (19 G, 42 A). His partner on the line, Jeff Christian departed for the Missouri Mavericks, but Ramsay decided to pair Mike with a former teammate of note that many Oilers fans never imagined would ever wear the Oilers sweater, Marty Standish, formerly of the Oklahoma City Blazers.
Standish is long remembered by the diehard
The Oilers defense is where Ramsay is placing a lot of emphasis this season for
“Defense is a team effort,” Ramsay said. “Everyone blames the defense if you give up a lot of shots or a lot of goals but it has to be everyone on the team committed to doing their job defensively.”
Indeed, the Oilers have suffered tremendously over the past few years at the blue line. Last season, they placed next-to-last in goals per game at 4.22, and dead last in shots allowed at 38.7 per game.
To that end, Ramsay brought in Rob Chappell from the Rocky Mountain Rage, who ranked 5th in the CHL in total penalty minutes (231) and 3rd in major penalties (25). Coach Ramsay also signed Chappell’s teammate Tyler Butler, whom he made his player assistant coach.
One of Ramsay’s bigger concerns is the team’s toughness on defense.
“You have to recruit the right players and make sure that you’re definitely tough and not getting pushed around,“ Ramsay said. “You’ve got to have the right combination of toughness and skating. The way hockey is played today, you have to be mobile.”
To help with the tough-mobility factors he recruited two players he believes have all-star potential, Derek Eastman and Jeff White.
With the challenges facing him in re-building the team and the burden of having to restore faith in the Oilers fan base, Ramsay clearly has his work cut out for him. During the off season, the demise of chief rival, the Oklahoma City Blazers shook the fan base up a little, as many fear another losing season might see the end of professional hockey in
You must be logged in to post a comment.