The Okotoks Oilers are putting rumours of an uncertain future to rest.
Oilers head coach and GM Tyler Deis stated the team is not going anywhere in the wake of a report that Okotoks had abstained from committing to the BCHL for the 2025-26 season and rumours circulating online.
“We’re super excited for next year, this is a league we chose to be part of,” Deis said. “We lost a lot of players coming into this year, unfortunately, but we’ve got a lot of players that will be back next year and they will have that year under their belt in this new league.”
There’s still plenty to play for this season with just four games left and a furious playoff push underway.
Okotoks (21-26-3) has a five-point lead on the Spruce Grove Saints for the final playoff seed in the Interior Conference. The Oilers are also within striking distance of the seventh seed, one point back of the West Kelowna Warriors.
Though there’s a delineation between the upper echelon teams and the rest in the standings, parity has ruled the day in the Interior where Okotoks has defeated every team in the conference save for the Brooks Bandits.
“One of the biggest reasons we did make this change is there’s no easy nights here, this league is very competitive,” the coach added. “You can lose to a team in the bottom of the standings and beat a team at the top of the standings.
“Every night is a game, the parity in the league is way tighter.”
During the upcoming penultimate weekend of the regular season, Okotoks hosts West Kelowna on March 21 and welcomes the division leading Penticton Vees for the first time on March 22. Both games are 7 p.m. starts at the Viking Rentals Centre.
“We hold our own destiny,” Deis said. “West Kelowna is another tough opponent, they’ve got a good goalie, and we’ve just got to play our game, play that 60 minutes and make sure we’re smart without the puck.”
The Vees contest is a potential first round playoff preview and would be the opening round series if the postseason started today.
“Penticton is a tough team, they’re big, strong and fast and we’ve got to make sure we’re extra smart in all aspects of the game,” the coach added. “Defensively, we’ve got to be tight and make sure they don’t get to the middle, manage that neutral zone and forecheck hard in the offensive zone.
“That will be a fun game for fans.”
The Oilers and four other Alberta based teams — Brooks, Blackfalds, Spruce Grove and Sherwood Park — joined the BCHL last winter and are playing in their first full season in the Jr. A loop.
“Everything that’s new is exciting, different rinks, different teams, different rivalries, creating new rivalries and seeing new cities and playing in different environments,” Deis said. “All of those things have been really positive. The travel, we do more trips, but we’re not doing those three and threes, so there’s a trade-off.”
Bright spots for the Oilers of late have included the play of rookie forward Ryan Boyce, the only 2008 born player on the roster, and second year winger Kade Duell, the team’s leading scorer with 20 goals and 38 points.
“With Boyce, it’s been a year to earn his way, and the sky is the limit with him, the potential he has is huge. He’s just going to get stronger and more confident,” Deis said. “With Duell, he can make plays and be dynamic on the ice. Coming into this league and it being such a difference from what we had come from, it’s having that consistency and him being able to adapt and work his way through it.”
The coach also lauded the leadership from his group of graduating players, captain Jackson Rowland, alternate captain Cyle Clayton and workhorse netminder Olivier Ciarlo in steering the ship this season.
“It’s those three guys leading the charge in the sense that it’s not been an easy year, it’s tough games and those guys are showing up every day,” he said.
For Okotoks’ three remaining home games, this weekend versus West Kelowna and Penticton and its home finale against Brooks on March 29, the team is partnering with the Okotoks Food Bank and accepting non-perishable food items and cash donations on site.
For more information on the team, go to okotoksoilers.com.
