Welcome back to Tulsa!
Coach Zac Desjardins joins us back behind the bench in Tulsa after his time with the Rapid City Rush and Macon Mayhem. Prior to, he was an assistant coach for the Tulsa Oilers (ECHL) for four seasons. Desjardins said: “It’s good to be back in Tulsa and be part of building the junior program. Since my time in Tulsa, I have seen the growth in not only hockey, but on the rink side, with the building of the new rink [WeStreet Ice Center].”
Desjardins is no stranger to the junior landscape, having coached the Tulsa Jr. Oilers and the Oklahoma City Jr. Blazers of the former Western States Hockey League.
General Manager, Chi-Yin Tse said: “We are happy to welcome back Zac, we believe in his plan to develop players and promote them in their careers.”
Since being named the Head Coach, Desjardins has been contacting each of the tendered and drafted players and building on the excitement of bringing junior hockey back to Tulsa. His focus is on building the right team culture as they move into their first season.
When asked about the team culture, Desjardins said: “I want the team to reflect the community of Tulsa. Tulsa is a blue-collar, hard working community and we want the players we bring in to have that same work ethic. I’ve started reaching out to the players and keeping in contact with them all the way till camp.”
As Coach Desjardins and staff prepare for their first camp in July. He reflected that he is most excited to take on the challenge of building a new team and seeing what they can do together this season.
“I’ve already started bantering back and forth with the other coaches. It is a unique opportunity to come in and build a team from scratch, rather than just being handed a team. Every year you want to win, but most importantly, I want to see what this team can do. To see the development of the team, the caliber of hockey we are going to bring in, and myself as a coach.”
We are looking forward to welcoming the Tulsa community into our season coming this September. First up is our main tryout camp July 26th-July 28th at WeStreet Ice Center. If you are interested in coming out to the try out camp, please contact General Manager, Chi-Yin Tse. For more information on our tryout camps, please check our registration site.
Are you ready to cheer on our Tulsa Jr. Oilers in their inaugural season? Be part of our inaugural season ticket holder club! Season ticket information will be released 7/8/2024. For more information, please contact info@junioroilers.com.