TULSA, Okla. – Left without a head coach in the middle of June following the departure of Bruce Ramsay, the Tulsa Oilers introduced the 11th coach in franchise history on Thursday afternoon at the BOK Center. Fresh off a flight from California, new Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations, Jason Christie was greeted by the Oklahoma heat and also a warm round of applause from Oilers fans.
“I’m trying to get used to the humidity a little bit, a little different living, but an absolutely gorgeous city,” Christie said, comparing his new home to Ontario, California where he has lived for the last four years.
A head coach for 13-years, Christie spent the last four seasons as head coach of the Ontario Reign, recording 43 or more wins each year. During his tenure with the Reign, his squads captured three consecutive ECHL Pacific Division titles. Last season he guided Ontario to a 43-19-10 regular season record and a spot in the Western Conference Finals. With 483 wins in the ECHL, Christie is second on the league’s all-time wins list and can surpass John Marks with just nine victories this season.
Christie found himself looking for a new job after the Reign franchise became the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings following the 2014-15 ECHL season.
Oilers Broadcaster/Director of Media Relations Rob Loeber opens Thursday’s press conference
With a career head coaching record of 520-304-105, Christie has left his mark in Peoria (ECHL), Bloomington (CHL) and Utah (ECHL), along with Ontario. In five years with the Peoria Rivermen, Christie led the team to four playoff appearances. In 2007-08 he took the Utah Grizzlies to the Kelly Cup Semifinals, marking the deepest playoff run in franchise history. In 2010-11 he led the Bloomington Prairie Thunder to 37 wins and a playoff appearance, while being named the CHL Coach of the Year.
Christie played in 572 games during a 10-year career, suiting up for eight different teams in the AHL, ECHL, IHL and in England.
“Over the past three weeks, one of the things that we realized is Tulsa is a place where a lot of coaches want to coach. We had over thirty very qualified coaches reach out to us for this job,” said Oilers General Manager Taylor Hall.
“One of the things we wanted to make sure is that we have a coach that is capable of getting us to that level of making the playoffs and eventually bringing a championship back here to Tulsa. It’s been 24 years since we’ve hoisted a cup here, way too long, and the last two years making the playoffs has been an improvement, but we want to continue to rise above that. When it came down to it, he was really our only choice and we are absolutely thrilled that he decided to join our team here in Tulsa and help take us to that level,” Hall added.
According to Christie, priority number one is to get to work and put a team on the ice that can compete every night and wants character guys that he can build his team around.
Oilers Head Coach/Director of Hockey Relations Jason Christie speaks with local television media
“You have to have a solid five guys that can get the point across. I’m only with them two hours a day, your older guys are now the ones that are drilling them on what we have to do, so I think that’s important,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of seeing some of his former Reign players in Oilers colors this year, Christie said there is always a chance, adding that he has to see if they fit in with what he has now in Tulsa.
“There are still a lot of players out there and there are a lot of players that are signed, so we’re going to have our hands full here for a little bit, but it’s an exciting time here,” said Christie.
Contact the writer: john.hall@prohockeynews.com
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