For the first time since the rebirth of the Central Hockey League in 1992, the Tulsa Oilers are affiliated with a National Hockey League team.

Oilers head coach Bruce Ramsay announced the Oilers have reached an affiliation agreement with the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL and the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League.

“This is a great step forward for our hockey team,” Ramsay said. “Last season we worked with Colorado and Lake Erie on an informal basis and we got goalie Trevor Cann as a result of the relationship and he played great for us. Making this a formal affiliation will only strengthen that bond and will help us overall throughout the hockey operations.”
 
The Oilers become only the second CHL team to have a formalized NHL affiliation in place for the upcoming season. The Odessa Jackalopes are aligned with NHL’s New York Islanders and AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, although other CHL teams could possibly have affiliations in place by the start of the season.

"We are excited to begin this new affiliation with the Tulsa Oilers," said David Oliver, the Avalanche's Director of Player Development and General Manager of the Lake Erie Monsters. "We are confident this organization in Tulsa will provide the right environment for our players in the Central Hockey League. Their leadership group and staff have the necessary resources to support the development of our prospects."

The Oilers had the second highest point total increase in the CHL last season under Ramsay, who was in his first season with the Oilers. They will have 33 home games at the BOK Center in the 2010-11 season, starting on Friday October 15th against the Wichita Thunder.