The Okotoks Oilers bolstered their young lineup last week with the addition of two Western Hockey League veterans who have strong backgrounds with the Alberta Junior Hockey League team.
Twenty-year-old forwards Chris Collins and Tanner Olstad fell victim to the overage rule in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and were released from the Saskatoon Blades and Regina Pats, respectively.
Once Major Junior hockey was out of the cards for the pair, joining the Oilers was a no-brainer.
“We had four overagers and only three spots and Saskatoon is hosting the Memorial Cup this year so it’s too bad I couldn’t be there,” Collins said. “You’re always caught off guard by it, but you know in the back of your head it’s a potential situation.”
Collins doesn’t hold any resentment to the Blades.
“It was awesome, it’s a great hockey city and it’s a first class organization,” said Collins. “But this is a good situation here, I know the coaches are good, I know the trainer is a good trainer.”
Collins played under Oilers head coach James Poole and the Oilers’ coaching staff for two years with the Midget AAA Calgary Buffaloes, and was the captain of the team when they hoisted the Mac’s Tournament trophy in 2008-09.
The Calgary native said he feels like he has something to prove in his last year of Junior hockey.
“You’re not playing for fun, you’re playing for keeps and making sure that at the end of the day we’re hoisting the cup over our heads,” he said.
Collins has a history of doing just that with the Oilers’ brass, having won the Mac’s tournament and also the Alberta Midget Hockey League title twice.
Once Collins was released from Saskatoon he was a highly sought after free agent, but history and familiarity were on the side of the Oilers.
“I had the coaching staff in Midget and we had some success there and I knew that with (Poole’s) systems I could fit in to them pretty well,” Collins said. “With the team this year they’re not in a rebuilding phase, they’re going for it so that made me excited to come here.”
The Oilers are equally excited to have the dynamic forward who posted 37 goals and 108 points in 200 WHL games with both the Chilliwack Bruins and Saskatoon Blades.
“We honestly didn’t expect that he was going to be available,” Poole admitted. “We thought if he didn’t stick with Saskatoon some other team in the WHL would pick him up.
“We talked with him along with a lot of Junior teams across the country so we feel fortunate he decided to sign in Okotoks and I think having the history we have (with Collins) is beneficial; having Greg Lamoureux who he played with and is good friends with is beneficial.”
Lamoureux and Collins were linemates at the Bantam level in the Buffaloes organization as well as their two seasons of Midget with Poole behind the bench.
“We had a lot of chemistry,” Lamoureux said. “It was tough to hear that he got released from Saskatoon, but as soon as he did I was right on the phone calling him because we’re actually really good friends in the summer too, in the same group of friends and play hockey together every day in the summer.
“It just made sense to get back together on a line.”
Collins agreed, adding Lamoureux is more persuasive than he lets on.
“He was secretly pushing me to come here,” Collins joked. “We had some success as linemates and he’s a great guy so he definitely pushed me in this direction.”
Olstad’s path to the Oilers was a little more concrete as a member of the organization in the 2009-10 season.
“It was weird at first seeing the old room and the rink,” Olstad said after his first game back with the Oilers on Saturday. “I had a great time when I was here, it’s good to be back and it has been a good re-adjustment for me.”
Olstad’s enjoyed a long, strange trip through the Junior ranks.
He played in parts of two seasons with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans before joining the Oilers midway through the 2009-10 season, and was part of the Okotoks team that made it to the league semifinals that year. He would re-join the Americans for the 2010-11 season and was then traded to Regina where Olstad played 102 games, registering 11 goals and 25 points, before his release from the Pats last week.
“I gave it my all and obviously that 20-year-old rule with only three 20s is pretty tough and going in we had seven,” Olstad said. “It’s tough the way it turned out, but you’ve just got to look forward.”
The Calgary native said taking the next step with the Oilers was a clear choice.
“I had a great time here and I knew if I wasn’t going to be in the (WHL) I would like to be with the Oilers,” he said. “I want to win and that’s pretty much why I chose here. I know this is a good team.”
