TULSA, OK – With the recent signings of veterans Tyler Fleck and Gord Bell, Tulsa Oilers fans will see some familiar faces on the ice when training camp opens next week.  The Oilers also picked up Gio Flamminio in a trade with Rapid City for future considerations.

Fleck was an ironman for the Oilers last season when he appeared in all 76 games.  The 5’10”, 210-pound defenseman was one of Tulsa’s toughest players and finished the 2010-11 campaign with eight points and 153 penalty minutes.  A 12-year veteran of the CHL, Fleck spent nine years as a member of the Oklahoma City Blazers and spent half a season with the Missouri Mavericks before joining the Oilers halfway into the 2009-10 season.  “Tyler is just such a smart, hard-nosed hockey player,” said Oilers head coach Bruce Ramsay. “He’s everything you want in a defenseman, and he brings a lot of leadership to our club.”

Despite only playing in 16 games last season, Bell made a big impact at the center position for the Oilers.  He put up five goals and nine assists to finish the year with a +5 rating.  A native of West Lock, Alberta, Bell began his CHL career in 2006.  He spent two years in Oklahoma City and two years with the Amarillo Gorillas.  In 2009-10, Bell posted a career high 45 points in 60 games with the Gorillas. “Gord is solid, responsible centerman at both ends of the ice,” said Ramsay. “I was very impressed with his play last year, and I’m expecting him to be a big contributor for us once again.”

For the past three seasons, Flamminio was a fixture on the Rapid City blue line.  The 5’11”, 195-pound defenseman appeared in 210 games for the Rush and put up 72 points to go along with 280 penalty minutes.  Flamminio also spent time with the Oklahoma City Blazers and Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL.  A product of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Flamminio played in his 400^th career game last season.  “Gio brings so much experience to the table and he knows how to win,” Ramsay said.  “He won a championship with Rapid City in 2010 and we feel very fortunate to have a player of his caliber on our roster.”

The Tulsa Oilers play their home opener at 7:35pm on October 28^th against the Wichita Thunder at the BOK Center.

Tickets: Season tickets and individual tickets for the Oilers 20^th season in the CHL are now on sale.  More information is available by calling the Oilers office at (918) 632-PUCK (7825) or by visiting www.tulsaoilers.com.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 7th, 2011 at 2:56 pm and is filed under CHL News, News, Oilers News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.