The puck drops on a new era of Okotoks Oilers hockey this weekend.
The Oilers begin their first full regular season in the British Columbia Hockey League on Friday looking to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the interprovincial loop.
“It will be interesting seeing all of the new faces in the league,” said Hunter Sawka, a third-year forward from Cochrane. “We’ve just got to go in there and work hard and show the teams what we’re made of and make a name for ourselves.”
Okotoks is skating in the BCHL Interior East Division this season alongside fellow-Alberta teams Brooks, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove and Blackfalds along with Cranbrook.
The five Alberta teams joined the BCHL from the AJHL during the 2023-24 season in January and concluded that regular season and playoffs playing exclusively against one another.
“Super excited and I know all of the other guys are super excited too,” said Oilers forward Jackson Rowland, a third-year member of the team. “First year in the BCHL, it will be fun to play some other teams, play in a different league. It’s a lot of new faces in Okotoks and it should be a good year.
“It will definitely be different, it’s a much a harder league and teams are a lot bigger and stronger so it will be a good experience for us to see what we can do in a different league.”
Along with returning forwards Rowland, Sawka, Brett Wilson and Kade Duell, Okotoks has acquired junior veterans Ethan DeKay and Otto Hanson via off-season trades and added a number of exciting U.S. prospects, including scoring winger Joseph Meredith and blueliner Brayden Duy.
“I think we’re going to be a really hard-working, fast, intense team who gets in the D-men’s faces and causes turnovers. I think we’re going to have a really good year,” added Sawka.
“We’ve got a lot of different pieces, a lot of versatility, a lot of guys who can score, forecheck and hit. I think we’re going to have a bunch of different line combos and see what works for us.”
This weekend, Okotoks and Brooks will renew their rivalry with a home-and-home set to kick-off the regular season. Okotoks hosts the front-end of the set on Sept. 20, a 7 p.m. start at the Viking Rentals Centre.
The teams last met in a memorable seven-game playoff series in the spring.
“We didn’t get the job done last year so what we want to do this year is end up beating them at the end of the year,” Rowland added. “It’s a good test for us to start with them.”
The opening month will also see Okotoks take on Cranbrook in a home-and-home set on Sept. 27-28. The first extended road trip of the season will see the Oilers visit Penticton and Salmon Arm on the first weekend of October.
For more information, go to okotoksoilers.com.
