Here We Go Again

The Edmonton Oil Kings will open their 2019-2020 season this weekend. They will open their season with a home and home series against Central Division rivals, the Red Deer Rebels. The season will begin on the road in Red Deer on Saturday night; the Oil Kings will play their first home game on Sunday afternoon. The Oil Kings return to Rogers Place after a very success 2018-2019 season which saw them reach the WHL Eastern Conference Finals.

Several of the key players from the Oil Kings playoff run have moved on to the next stages of their careers, but the Oil Kings have retained a core group of veterans from last season to help re-establish their previous success this year. Counted among those players are goaltender Dylan Myskiw, forwards David Kope, Jake Neighbours, Liam Keeler, Carter Souch, & Josh Williams, and defenders Connor McDonald, Matthew Robertson, and Ethan Cap.

Mixed in with these familiar faces will be some new ones – or less familiar ones. Dylan Guenther (who played a handful of games last season) is expected to make an impact this season. Defender Keagan Slaney and forwards Tyler Horstmann and Jesse Seppala will also be interesting to keep an eye on. New to the Oil Kings, but not the WHL, is forward Riley Sawchuk.

The Oil Kings acquired Sawchuk in a trade with the Tri-City Americans during the last offseaThe Edmonton Oil Kings will open their 2019-2020 season this weekend. They will open their season with a home and home series against Central Division rivals, the Red Deer Rebels. The season will begin on the road in Red Deer on Saturday night; the Oil Kings will play their first home game on Sunday afternoon. The Oil Kings return to Rogers Place after a very success 2018-2019 season which saw them reach the WHL Eastern Conference Finals.

It will also be interesting to see who the Oil Kings name as captain as there has been no official announcement yet.

The Oil Kings pre-season has seen several of their core veterans away at NHL camps. Because of this, Oil Kings fans were able to see several players which will obviously feature in the Oil Kings future plans. However, with players returned from NHL camps, the Oil Kings have released several young players back to their teams and traded one 20-year-old. This trade allows the Oil Kings roster to comply with WHL (and CHL) regulations on overage players. Roster moves from earlier in the off season have ensured the Oil Kings comply with rules around import players.

The Oil Kings pre-season was very successful. The team went undefeated and ranked in the Kia Top 10 CHL teams for the preseason. After an exciting finish to last season, Oil Kings fans are eager to see if the team can continue to build on their early success. Undoubtedly, it will become more difficult as games influence standing and many WHL clubs have had their players returned from NHL camps. The Oil Kings will be tested by Central Division rivals right out of the gate.

There first five games feature two clashes with Red Deer, one with Calgary, one with Lethbridge, and one with the newly reclassified Swift Current Broncos. The Broncos join the Central Division this season as the Winnipeg Ice (relocated from Cranbrook and formally the Kootenay Ice) have joined the Eastern Division.

The Oil Kings open their season at home on Sunday September 22 at 4pm. Rogers Place should be an exciting place to be