The developing hockey family of the Stockton Thunder now includes two National Hockey League affiliates possessing the brightest, young talent in hockey – the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks.
A news conference on August 2, 2010 in Stockton solidified an agreement to have the Thunder serve as the sole, primary ‘AA’ affiliate for Oilers and Sharks prospects.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers, one of the most storied teams in hockey history, extended its affiliation agreement after the Thunder advanced to the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and earned their first trip to the Conference Finals.
The Oilers, a member of the NHL’s Western Conference and Northwest Division, have been a member of the National Hockey League since the 1979-80 season. A winner of five Stanley Cup Championships (1983-84, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1987-88 and 1989-90), the Oilers became the NHL’s first-ever eighth playoff seed in league history to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2005-06 as the league’s Western Conference Champion, falling in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Finals.
Currently led by 11th year president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe and general manager Steve Tambellini, the Oilers have sent six players to the Hockey Hall of Fame – a list of “who’s who” in hockey history – including Wayne Gretzky (NHL’s all-time leading scorer), Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey and Glenn Anderson. Glen Sather (President and General Manager) and Rod Phillips (Radio Broadcaster) have also earned spots in the Hall of Fame.
For the fifth consecutive season, Stockton will serve as the AA minor-league affiliate for Oilers prospects. Since the Thunder and Oilers began their partnership in 2006-07, the Thunder has advanced to the Kelly Cup Playoffs four consecutive years.
Seven players with experience in a Thunder uniform have advanced to make their NHL debut since 2006-07:
- Troy Bodie (RW)
- Devan Dubynk (G)
- Colin McDonald (RW)
- Ryan O’Marra (C)
- Tim Sestito (LW)
- Liam Reddox (LW) (pictured)
- Bryan Young (D)
Within the Thunder’s 23-man roster that advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time in club history last season, eight players were under an NHL or AHL contract through Edmonton:
- James Bates (RW)
- Jordan Bendfeld (D)
- Kelly Czuy (RW)
- Riley Emmerson (RW)
- Matt Marquardt (LW)
- Andrew Perugini (G)
- Bryan Pitton (G)
- Bryan Young (D)
Goaltender Bryan Pitton became the first player in Thunder history to earn a recall directly to the NHL last season. He suited up for the Oilers on Jan. 2 at San Jose and backed up goaltender Jeff-Drouin Deslauriers, but did not play. Pitton recorded .921 save percentage, won eight of his last 12 ECHL games to finish 9-9-3 in the regular season with a 2.85 GAA and one shutout. Pitton broke a Thunder playoff record with 49 saves, earning his first career postseason shutout on May 5 vs. Idaho (1-0 win in triple overtime).
San Jose Sharks
The Thunder and Sharks are two professional Northern California hockey clubs aligned, yet separated by just 80 miles of distance. San Jose was affiliated with Kalamazoo of the ECHL last season and during the year, the K-Wings were North Division champions and finished tied for the best record in the American Conference with 94 points (42-20-8). The agreement began as a working partnership in January 2010.
As hockey neighbors, both clubs also share similar honors in sports and entertainment. The Thunder is a two-time recipient of the ECHL “Award of Excellence,” awarded to teams that are first-rate, who excel in all categories of sales and marketing, and who distinguish themselves in their community, both on and off the ice. The Thunder led the ECHL in attendance for four consecutive seasons and has drawn over an average of 6,000 fans per game through five consecutive years.
The Sharks, led by Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson, recently finished as the 12th best overall franchise in ESPN’s “Ultimate Standings,” ranking all teams from the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association according to an in-depth survey conducted by ESPN The Magazine. The “Ultimate Standings” ranked every franchise according to how much they give back to fans for all of time, money and emotion invested by each fan.
Both Stockton and San Jose advanced to their respective league’s Conference Final playoff round last season.
The Sharks, a member of the NHL’s Western Conference and Pacific Division, have been a member of the National Hockey League since the 1991-92 season. The Sharks have won three consecutive Pacific Division titles and have won five division championships (2001-02, 2003-04, 2007-10) in franchise history. In 2008-09, San Jose captured their first President’s Trophy with the NHL’s best regular season record (53-18-11, 117 points).
Like the Northern California-neighboring Thunder, the Sharks have enjoyed box office success each season on their own home ice and in the last four seasons, San Jose has drawn a total of 2,865,106 fans in the last 164 regular season games to HP Pavilion at San Jose. The Sharks set a franchise record with 719,904 fans attending the team’s 41 home games in 2009-10.
AHL AFFILIATES
Oklahoma City Barons: The Oklahoma City Barons are one of two American Hockey League affiliates of the Thunder, entering their first season of an affiliation through the Edmonton Oilers. Oklahoma City is also in their first season of play in the American Hockey League, led by the ownership of Bob Funk Jr. and the group of Prodigal Hockey, LLC.
The Barons are led by head coach Todd Nelson, who previously served behind the bench for the Atlanta Thrashers as an assistant coach.
Oklahoma City, who unveiled the team name, logos and colors on May 19, 2010 is competing in the AHL’s Western Conference and Western Division, making the state-of-the-art Cox Convention Center their home ice.
Worchester Sharks: The Worcester Sharks are one of two American Hockey League affiliates of the Thunder and are in the fifth season of an affiliation with the San Jose Sharks. An owned property of Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment, the Worcester Sharks have advanced to the Calder Cup Playoffs in three of the last four seasons and captured their first Atlantic Division regular season championship last year with a 49-25-6 record (104 points).
Worcester also advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the second straight year.
Currently led by head coach Roy Sommer, the Sharks have helped send 12 players onto revered NHL careers since 06-07, including Jason Demers, Torrey Mitchell, Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi and goaltender Thomas Greiss.
Contact info:
Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club
11230 – 110 Street
Edmonton, AB. T5G 3H7
Phone: 780-414-4000
Oklahoma City Barons
501 N. Walker, Suite 140
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Phone: 405-232-4625
San Jose Sharks
HP Pavilion at San Jose
525 West Santa Clara St.
San Jose, CA. 95113
Phone: 408-287-7070
Worcester Sharks
DCU Center
50 Foster Street
Worcester, MA. 01608
Phone: 509-929-0500
** Photos courtesy Getty Images and the San Jose Sharks
