The Tulsa Oilers continue to build toward opening night by adding a defenseman with three years of Central Hockey League experience, and a rookie center.

Coach Dan Hodge announced the Oilers have signed defenseman Kelly Sickavish (pronounced suh-CAV-ish) and center Josh Bray.

Sickavish, 6-foot-3, 210 pounds has played three seasons in the CHL, one with Wichita and two with Youngstown. In his 167 career games he has six goals and 27 assists for 33 points. He has 226 penalty minutes and is a +16.

“Kelly has all the tools to be a premier defenseman in this league, a big strong mobile defenseman who adds experience to our defense,” Hodge said. “He’s participated in the postseason and knows what it takes to get there. I’ll rely very heavily on Kelly this season to help us realize our ultimate goal of restoring Tulsa to one of the elite teams in the CHL.”

“I’m excited about joining the team, and with the new rink, it’ll be great,” Sickavish said. He added he’s heard nothing but good things about the Oilers. Sickavish was a teammate of Oilers right winger Jeff Christian for his two seasons in Youngstown.

Hodge says signing Sickavish adds to the Oilers’ preseason depth on defense and should make for interesting battles when the team starts training camp October 6^th in preparation for the season opener at Oklahoma City on October 17^th.

Bray, 6-foot, 195 pounds, will join the Oilers from the Weyburn Red Wings of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

“Josh is a young kid who comes out of a tremendous program in Weyburn,” Hodge said. “Last season he had a great year in all categories and all reports I’ve gotten on Josh makes me believe that he will make the transition to pro with no problem.”

The Oilers will play their first home game in the BOK Center, on Saturday October 25 against the arch rival Oklahoma City Blazers. Season tickets for the Oilers 2008-09 season in the new BOK Center are available by calling the Oilers at (918) 632-PUCK (7825).

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at 12:06 pm and is filed under 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.

The Tulsa Oilers have added a veteran defenseman with championship experience to their roster for the 2008-09 Central Hockey League season.
Kevin Hansen, who played last season with the Fort Wayne Komets, has signed with the Oilers for their inaugural season in the BOK Center. Fort Wayne won the International Hockey League’s Turner Cup, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the final round against Port Huron, and winning game seven in triple overtime in front of 11,000 fans.
“It was awesome,” the 30 year old Hansen said.
The 6-foot-1, 210 pound blueliner will be in his eighth professional season, and has previously played for Odessa in the CHL. He has also previously played for former Oilers’ coach Garry Unger, and been a teammate of goaltender Kevin St. Pierre. Last season with Fort Wayne, he played 66 games with one goal and 11 assists for 12 points and was a plus three.
“In Motor City I was a little more offensive, and in Fort Wayne there was more of an emphasis on a defensive system,” Hansen said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the puck out of our net. I’ve blocked shots with my head. The other guys would laugh at me, but hey whatever works.”
Oilers head coach Dan Hodge is glad to have a solid veteran join the Oilers’ blueline.
“Kevin is a quality veteran defenseman that has just come off a year where he
was an huge part of his team, Ft. Wayne, winning the championship. He will add depth as well as leadership on the back end,” Hodge said. “Kevin adds size, experience and a physical aspect to the game that the fans will enjoy watching.”

The Oilers will play their first home game in the BOK Center, on Saturday October 25th, against the arch rival Oklahoma City Blazers. Season tickets for the Oilers 2008-09 season in the new BOK Center are available by calling the Oilers at (918) 632-PUCK (7825).

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 9:01 am and is filed under 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.