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2007-2008 Tulsa Oiler Roster
| Butch Kaebel
Head Coach
butch@tulsaoilers.com
Butch Kaebel enters his third full season as the Oilers head coach. He was named interim coach of the Oilers midway through the 2003-04 season and coached his first game Christmas night that season, leading the Oilers to a 2-0 win in Oklahoma City. Kaebel helped the Oilers to a strong finish that season as the Oilers gained points in 11 of the team's final 13 games and finished with a 26-25-13 mark.
With the interim tag removed from his title, Kaebel undertook an aggressive recruiting campaign that resulted in the Oilers returning to the CHL playoffs in 2004-05, for the first time in four seasons. The success continued in 2005-06 as Kaebel led the Oilers to a 29-28-7 season. The Oilers have had seven straight seasons above.500, the longest stretch in Tulsa pro hockey history, which dates back (off and on) to 1928.
Kaebel brings a lifetime of hockey experience to the Oilers. His playing career includes time in the former International Hockey League, at a time when that league was a key feeder to the National Hockey League. He's also attended two NHL training camps with the St. Louis Blues. In 2000-01, Kaebel was a member of the Trenton Titans, which made it to the ECHL final series. He wrapped up his playing career the next season, with the Oilers, and has since become a fixture on the Tulsa hockey scene.
A tireless worker, Kaebel hosts numerous youth hockey clinics teaching youngsters the basics of hockey. A devoted family man, Butch, his wife Jane, and children Moses, Lazarus, and Faith are an active family at Guts Church in Tulsa.
| Dan Hodge
Assistant Coach
dan@tulsaoilers.com
Moving from the ice to the bench Dan Hodge begins the next phase in a lifetime spent in hockey. The son of two time Stanley Cup champ Ken Hodge (Boston Bruins 1970 and 1972) he was born into a life of hockey.
Hodge was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the ninth round (194 overall) in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. His playing career included stints in the American Hockey League and International Hockey League, as well as winning the 2000 Kelly Cup championship in the East Coast Hockey League with the Peoria Rivermen. It concluded as the Oilers captain in 2005-06.
Dan and his wife Denise now make their home in Tulsa.
| Steve Enlow
Equipment Manager
A fixture on the Oilers hockey scene, he is the ultimate Mr. Fix It for the Oilers. Steve has worked for the Oilers for 15 of their 16 years in the reborn CHL and his tenure even goes back as far as 1970 with the old CHL. In his career, he’s also worked with the Colorado Rockies (now the New Jersey Devils) of the NHL. The CHL recognized his excellence voting him equipment manager of the year in 2005-06 and the Oilers have named their locker room in his honor.
| B.J. Leyser
A.T.C., Athletic Trainer
B.J. joined the Oilers in the middle of last season and they didn’t miss a beat in the transition. He came to Tulsa after serving on the training staff for Omaha of the American Hockey League, the top affiliate for the Calgary Flames of the NHL. He graduated from Central Michigan University in 2006 with a degree in athletic training.
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