Major junior hockey is all about building, adding, scuffling, trying to win a league championship, and get to the big dance, the Memorial Cup.
Then there’s the inevitable crash and burn.
There is very little retooling in the Western Hockey League when you go all-in. It’s a total rebuild, the house trying to withstand a storm of losses.
You win 50 of 68 league games Edmonton Oil Kings did in 2021-22 en route to the WHL title and then 10 of 68 in 2022-23 as one of the worst teams in the Canadian Hockey League as you start over when the big guns and the trade adds move on. Then, some light again like with with 27 W’s in 2023-24.
Now, it looks like the Oil Kings are on their way back with all of their NHL camp invites returning with a road trip to Brandon and Regina Friday-Saturday.
They’ve got NHL worker bee forward Vern Fiddler’s defenceman son Blake, 17, who could go in round 1 of the 2025 NHL draft because of the pedigree; he’s 6’4” and 210 pounds, shoots right and was captain of USAs U18 squad at the summer Hlinka-Gretzky Cup here. They’ve also got Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla’s forward son Joe, only 16, possibly not as dynamic as his older brother Tij as scorers go after Utah took him in the first round of the draft this June, but with lots of fibre and smarts.
They’ve got two excellent import Czech forwards—Adam Jecho, Blues’ third-round 2024 pick, and Miroslav Holinka, Leafs’ fifth-round selection, who was playing pro back home when drafted. They also have returned No. 1 C Gracyn Sawchyn from Florida’s camp (second-round draft in 2023) and a few days ago traded for another strong WHL veteran forward Rylen Roersma to take up an overage (20 year-old) spot. Roersma has played over 200 WHL games.
They may have figured out their goaltending, putting 20-year-old Kolby Hay on waivers (he cleared with no takers in the WHL so is a free agent to play anywhere in Canada) and going with 19-year-old Alex Worthington and young Hudson Perry.
They’re 1-2 to start the season with a shortened roster, beating Calgary 4-1 last Saturday. They’re somewhere between the old powerhouse and the walk-over of two years ago.
“We had to say goodbye to a lot of good people but we accumulated a lot of assets (draft picks) and we took our lumps along the way,” said GM Kirt Hill. “When you expend significant assets (draft picks for older players) to go all in and you win the league, well…”
It’s the price that Hill was willing to pay, even starting over.
“We’ve got good inventory now and the organization is set for several years to go on a run. And yeah, I would say our heads are above water,” said Hill.
“Our forward group’s really deep, our defence is on the younger side but one that played significant minutes when we were going through the rebuild. (Parker) Alcos, (Rhys) Pederson, (Ethan) MacKenzie played at 16 and 17 years old in top 4 roles,” said GM Kirt Hill.
One of those young D, Fiddler, born in Texas, has the goods to be a very good player.
“When you’re 6’4”, a right-shot D who can skate like he does, it’s pretty hard to find those guys on depth charts in the NHL,” said Hill. “He’s pretty attractive. Teams have already reached out (to Hill) to interview him, take him out to dinner. Like we’ve seen in the past with (eventual first-round picks Sebastian) Cossa, (Dylan) Guenther, (Jake) Neighbours.
“High-profile players. That’s the reality with players like this, you have high expectations with NHL teams wanting to talk to you all the time.”
Most first-round NHL D picked high have an offensive bent to their games while Fiddler is more of a two-way kid but is more offensively-minded than two-way but Fiddler, whose dad Vern lives in Dallas, isn’t just a shutdown guy.
“He’s got some offensive ceiling to reach but at the end of the day I don’t see him running an NHL power play but I can see Blake being a really reliable top four D in future,” said Hill.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, father and son, are both extremely hard-working although they play different positions. Vern, 44, was born here and played 877 NHL games as a forward. He’s now into real estate and coaching minor hockey in Dallas.
Again, his son picked up pops’ hockey genes.
“Blake’s dad played consistently in that league for a long time and that’s sometimes hard to do as a role player. Hopefully, he can surpass him,” said Hill.
The 18-year-old imports are top-drawer forwards.
“Holinka brings a mature element after playing pro in Czech. And Adam has gotten so much stronger and his skating has improved after his first year with us. We expect Adam to take a big step,” said Hill.
Iginla has just scratched the surface, starting his first full WHL season now.“ Tij (just returned to Kelowna from Utah’s camp) has a lot of speed, and can really shoot the puck. Plays that offensive style of game.
I find Joe a bit more cerebral, plays a bit heavier at times, maybe distributes the puck a bit better,” said Hill..The Oil Kings have been blessed with top-drawer starters—Laurent Brossoit, Tristan Jarry, Cossa—but it’s hard to find studs in net.
“You’re drafting goalies when they’re 14 years old,” said Hill. “You hope there’s intangibles there when you draft them that they’ll be really good when they’re 18, 19 or 20 in this league.”
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