Sale doesn't mean changes for Oil Kings

From The Daily News of Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008 . . .

The Edmonton Oil Kings, the WHL’s latest expansion baby, changed hands
earlier this month and general manager Bob Green is hardly aware of it.
Oh, he has read about it and heard about it, but that only means he knows as
much about it as you do.
When the season began, the Oil Kings were owned by the Edmonton Investment
Group, which paid $4 million for the franchise. EIG sold the Oilers to Daryl
Katz, an Edmonton-based businessman who owns, among other things, Rexall
Pharmacies, for $200 million on Feb. 2.
Asked what the sale of the Oilers means to the Oil Kings, Green replied: “I
really don’t know. All I know is we go along with the Oilers and anything
after that is still up in the air and probably to be determined.”
Green, who moved to Edmonton after a long scouting career with the Medicine
Hat Tigers, hasn’t even talked to Katz.
“I work in the hockey area, rather than business, so that’s the only thing I
can comment on,” said Green, whose handling of the Medicine Hat scouting
department is credited with helping turn around the Tigers after a run of
cellar-dwelling seasons. “From my standpoint, it’s business as usual. We’re
trying to build a championship hockey club here and are going through that
process.
“But I work for (Oilers GM) Kevin Lowe . . .”
That is a relationship, Green said, that has been terrific. Lowe has made
his staff of coaches and scouts available when needed and Green said that is
a huge help, especially when it comes to the import draft.
It also is a plus that Oil Kings players are able to have some interaction
with their professional counterparts.
“We share some of the same facilities at Rexall Place and there are times
when our players are working out in the fitness facility and Oilers players
are there,” Green said. “It’s been good that way. Our players also have the
advantage of watching not only the Oilers but other NHL players practice.
“That’s exciting for the kids and it’s good for us from an organizational
standpoint that our guys are around that and see how they act on and off the
ice . . . they can learn what it takes to be a player and to survive at that
level.”
Among those players are two former Blazers, goaltender Dalyn Flette who
started against his former team at Interior Savings Centre last night, and
centre Brenden Dowd. The Blazers dealt Flette to the Oil Kings on June 6 for
right-winger Kenton Dulle; they lost Dowd in the expansion draft.
Green said the Oil Kings have been pleased with Flette, a 17-year-old from
Calgary who went into last night with a 4-9-0-2 record in 20 appearances.
“He got going before Christmas and then suffered a knee injury in practice,”
Green said, adding that the injury hurt because Flette wasn’t “able to
continue with some of the off-ice (work) he’d been doing.
“Now he’s just starting to come out of that. He played two games last
weekend and played very well.”
Alex Archibald, the Oil Kings’ No. 1 goaltender, is 20 so won’t be back next
season. Which means the door is open for Flette.
“Dalyn has been great and has really paid attention to details,” Green said.
“He has worked hard with (assistant coach) Rocky Thompson on the fitness
aspect of things and has been working hard at school to make sure he
graduates this year.
“We look for big things from Dalyn. Next season, with Alex graduating, Dalyn
is going to be our guy.”
Dowd, who went into last night with 29 points in 55 games, turned 19 on Dec.
31. Green said the Saskatoon native needs to find more consistency but that
he is being counted on as one of the club’s three 20-year-olds next season.
“He’s been good,” Green said, “but at times he maybe doesn’t compete as hard
as he needs to. We’re looking for a little bit of consistency. Brenden is a
very talented kid and maybe once he realizes how talented he is . . . he’ll
get a little more consistent.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca