The Tulsa Oilers have announced the signings of forwards Drew Fisher and Ben Gordon, both from International Falls, for the 2012-13 Central Hockey League season.
Fisher, 25, played the final six games of last season for the Oilers. Gordon, 27, spent last season in Germany. With right-wing Ryan Cramer returning for a second season in Tulsa, the Oilers now boast three players from the Falls.
Fisher and Gordon were college teammates at the University of Minnesota in 2007-08 before Fisher transferred and joined Cramer at Bemidji State University.
“Having Ben and Ryan on the team made the decision to come back to Tulsa so much easier,” Fisher said. “It’s not often in life you get an opportunity like this to play beside two of your best friends. We’re very lucky and very fortunate that we all keep ending up in the same place.”
“I don’t know how many teams can say they have three guys from the same city,” Gordon said. “International Falls is known for its hockey and that’s all we did when we were kids so it’s kind of crazy to end up in the same place with those guys and I’m excited to get the season underway.”
Fisher and Gordon are not only friends and teammates, they’re about to become family. Fisher was recently engaged to Gordon’s sister.
“I couldn’t intimidate him when they started dating because he was bigger than me then and he’s bigger than me now,” Gordon joked. “I really couldn’t ask for a better brother-in-law, he’s a great guy and we can’t wait to have him as part of our family.”
Fisher, a 6’3” 215-pound left wing, arrived in Tulsa last season as the Oilers were making a final push for the playoffs and showed no signs of being overwhelmed by the transition to the pro game. In six contests, Fisher recorded three points and scored his first professional goal at the BOK Center against Missouri in the season finale.
“I was thrown into the fire right away, but the experience last year was great for me and it was huge for my game,” said Fisher. “It was really good to get a feel for the speed and the style that Rammer (Oilers Head Coach Bruce Ramsay) likes to play and I really enjoyed it. I fell in love with the city and I can’t wait to get back.”
“When I brought Drew in last season, I wasn’t sure what he could do but I thought he was very impressive in those last few games,” Ramsay said. “He’s a big, strong, smart hockey player who’s only going to get better.”
A four-year veteran with 25 games of AHL experience to his credit, Gordon will be playing in the CHL for the first time.
A standout for the Golden Gophers in college, Gordon was the second leading scorer for the ECHL’s Reading Royals in 2009-10. The 5’10” 180-pound left wing has 225 points in 249 career regular season games and a career plus/minus rating of +28.
“Ben has proven himself at every single level of hockey and he’s going to be a big addition to this team,” said Ramsay. “He’s a very skilled player who can put the puck in the net and he makes everyone on the ice better.”
“I’ve been playing for a few years going up and down between the ECHL and AHL and then in Europe so the most important thing to me now is stability,” Gordon said. “I wanted to play in a warmer city like Tulsa, I’ve got family there now with Drew on the team, and Rammer seems like a great guy, so all the pieces really fell into place for me to join the Oilers.”
The Oilers begin training camp on Oct. 8 and open the 2012-13 season at Wichita on Oct. 20. The home opener is slated for Oct. 26 against Quad City.
