On Friday, the Edmonton Oilers will travel to Salt Lake City to play the Utah Hockey Club for the first time.
Just after the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, the Arizona Coyotes officially relocated to Salt Lake City for the beginning of 2024-25. However, Salt Lake City and the State of Utah have a long history with the sport long before the arrival of their National Hockey League Club.
The Salt Lake Golden Eagles joined the Western Hockey League in 1969 and played in the Central Hockey League and International Hockey League before relocating in 1994. The original Utah Grizzlies relocated to Salt Lake City’s metro in 1995, winning the IHL’s trophy in 1996, before transferring to the American Hockey League in 2001. In 2005, the team disbanded but returned with the same name as an Eastern Coast Hockey League team to begin the 2005-06 season.
Minor league teams aside, the 2002 Winter Olympics were also hosted in Utah. Team Canada won the Gold Medal in men’s hockey after a disappointing showing at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, while the United States wound up with Silver and Russia won Bronze.
All three of those teams had at least one player with ties to the Oilers. In fact, there were 32 players and six coaches who had ties to the Oilers at some point in their careers. Let’s take a look at a few notable names, as well as some players you may have never heard of!
Team Canada
The Gold Medal-winning Team Canada had two current Oilers on the roster, Eric Brewer and Ryan Smyth. Also on that Canadian team were a couple of other future Oilers who featured on the team’s 2006 run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Chris Pronger and Michael Peca.
Smyth, nicknamed “Captain Canada” had an extensive international career, winning Gold Medals in the World Championships in 2003 and 2004, a World Cup in 2004, a World Junior Championship, and the Spengler Cup in 2012 for good measure. The 2002 Gold Medal in the Olympics was Smyth’s only, and he picked up an assist in six games.
Smyth is an Oilers legend, playing 971 games with the team and scoring 296 goals and 631 points in two separate stints. In his final full season with the Oilers in his first stint, they went to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they fell short against the Carolina Hurricanes. Two of his Olympic teammates featured on that Team Canada roster during that run.
Pronger is arguably the best player to feature on this list. He was traded to the Oilers before the 2005-06 season, ironically for Brewer, and scored 12 goals and 56 points in 80 games with the Oilers. In the postseason, he scored five goals and 21 points in 24 games and although he only played one season with the Oilers, he’s one of the best defencemen in franchise history. In his second of four Olympics, Pronger picked up an assist.
Like Pronger, Peca only played one season with the Oilers, where he scored nine goals and 23 points in 71 games during the 2005-06 season. In the postseason, Peca potted six goals and 11 points in 24 games. Overall, he finished with two points in the Olympics.
Brewer was traded to the Oilers at the 2000 draft for another player we’ll look at later in this article, Roman Hamrlík. The defenceman played four seasons with the Oilers, playing 315 games with 29 goals and 100 points. In the Olympics, he scored two goals, including the game-winning goal in the Semifinals against Belarus.
Team Canada had three coaches who coached the Oilers. Pat Quinn briefly coached the Oilers in the 2009-10 season and was the head coach of the 2002 Olympic team. His assistant coach with the Oilers, Wayne Fleming was also an assistant coach on Team Canada in 2002. Ken Hitchcock briefly coached the Oilers in 2018-19 as well.
Former Oilers Doug Weight and Bill Guerin with Team USA
Team USA
There was only one Oiler on the 2001-02 team that made Team USA’s roster: Tom Poti. However, three other players played a game for the Oilers, and two players who had their rights traded to the Oilers despite never suiting up for Edmonton.
Doug Weight is by far the most notable player of any Team USA member. He was traded to the Oilers before the 1993 trade deadline and eventually became their captain. In his nine seasons with the Oilers, Weight scored 157 goals and 577 points in 588 games, but was eventually traded to the St. Louis Blues for three players, including Jochen Hecht who is featured in this article later.
Weight went on to play for the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes, the team that defeated the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals. In Game 5, he was injured by Chris Pronger and was replaced by future Oiler Erik Cole in the lineup. The Oilers weren’t the only team Weight captained in his career, as he succeeded the player we’ll look at next as the New York Islanders captain.
Bill Guerin played parts of four seasons with the Oilers, scoring 78 goals and 161 points in 211 games. The Oilers acquired him for Jason Arnott and traded him to the Boston Bruins for Anson Carter and the pick used to select Aleš Hemský, who won a Bronze Medal in the 2006 Olympics. Weight scored four goals in the Olympics, tied for third-most in the tournament.
Tom Poti was selected 59th overall in the 1996 draft and was the only current Oiler to make Team USA’s roster. Like me, Poti suffers a severe peanut allergy, but unlike me, Poti had a successful hockey career, playing parts of four seasons with the Oilers, scoring 27 goals and 105 points in 285 games, before being traded to the New York Rangers for…
Mike York, who played parts of three seasons with the Oilers, scoring 40 goals and 97 points in 144 games. York was traded on Aug. 3, 2005, to the New York Islanders for Michael Peca. He wasn’t the only 2001-02 Ranger to be traded to participate in the 2002 Olympics for the United States and be traded to the Oilers.
Unfortunately, neither of the players I alluded to played for the Oilers. On Jun. 30, 2003, defenceman Brian Leetch’s rights were traded to the Oilers, but he re-signed with the Rangers later that off-season. This was a similar situation to what happened with netminder Mike Richter exactly a year before, as he re-signed with the Rangers only five days later.
Team Russia
Team Russia won the Bronze Medal at the 2002 Olympics and five Oilers alumni played on that roster.
Sergei Samsonov is the most notable of the five, as the Oilers traded Marty Reasoner, Yan Stastny (his uncle Vladimir coached Team Slovakia in the 2002 Olympics), and a 2006 second-round pick that turned out to be Milan Lucic to the Boston Bruins for the forward.
Like Chris Pronger and Michael Peca, Samsonov only played the 2005-06 season with the Oilers, scoring five goals and 16 points in 19 games after the trade. During the Stanley Cup Finals run, he scored four goals and 15 points in 24 games, before signing with the Montréal Canadiens before the 2006-07 season.
Boris Mironov is another notable Oiler, as the defenceman played six seasons with the Oilers, scoring 42 goals and 160 points in 320 games from the 1993-94 season until he was traded during the 1998-99 season. In the trade to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Oilers acquired future captain Ethan Moreau.
Two goalies played on the 2002 Team Russia team who would eventually find their way to the Oilers. Starting with Nikolai Khabibulin, the Russian netminder was far past his prime when he signed with the Oilers before the 2009-10 season. In his four seasons with Edmonton, he had a .903 save percentage and a 3 goals-against average in 117 games played.
It was the same case for Ilya Bryzgalov, who signed with the Oilers on Nov. 8, 2013. The then 33-year-old goalie only played 20 games for the Oilers, posting a .908 save percentage and a .301 goals-against average before being traded to the Minnesota Wild before the 2014 trade deadline for a fourth-round pick. More on that here.
Lastly, Igor Kravchuk played parts of four seasons with the Oilers, scoring 27 goals and 61 points in 160 games. He was eventually traded to the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 4, 1996 for Donald Dufresne and Jeff Norton.
Team Sweden
In the Bronze Medal game, Team Russia defeated Russia-lite, Team Belarus. It was a Cinderella Run for the minor hockey nation, as they finished Group Play 0-3-0, but managed to defeat Team Sweden in the Quarterfinals.
Team Sweden finished the Group Play 3-0-0, with Tommy Salo being one of just seven Oilers on the 2001-02 team to make the Olympic roster. Salo had a successful NHL career, playing 526 games and rocking a .905 save percentage and 2.55 goals-against average. In six seasons with the Oilers, he had a .906 save percentage and a 2.44 goals-against average, including a .913 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average in 2001-02.
Unfortunately, one of the most memorable plays of Salo’s career came in that Quarterfinal game, as he allowed a goal from outside the blue line.
The other Swede to have played for the Oilers was Fredrik Olausson. The defenceman played parts of three seasons with the Oilers from 1993-94 until 1995-96, scoring five goals and 44 points in 108 games.
Team Finland
Sticking with Nordic teams bounced in the Quarterfinals, Team Finland fell 2-1 to Canada, finishing sixth overall in the 2002 Olympics. Of course, they had a handful of players (three to be exact) who have a connection with the Oilers.
Netminder Jussi Markkanen was the most notable, as he was a part of the team that made the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals before Dwayne Roloson was acquired before the 2006 trade deadline. Read more on that here.
Markkanen had two stints with the Oilers, posting a .901 save percentage and a 2.60 goals-against average in 102 games played. He was traded to the Rangers for the rights to Brian Leetch, but the Oilers reacquired him less than a year later.
Janne Niinimaa was a part of the Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey trade trees, as the Oilers acquired the defenceman before the 1998 trade deadline. Niimimaa played six seasons with the Oilers, scoring 34 goals and 188 points in 399 games from the 1997-98 season until the 2002-03 season. He was an All-Star for the team in 2000-01.
Lastly, Sami Kapanen never played for the Oilers. However, they claimed his son, Kasperi, off waivers recently, so that’s cool. It’s worth mentioning that Jari Kurri was the assistant coach of Finland.
Team Czechia
Of the 14 teams that participated in the 2002 Olympics, Team Czechia featured the most Oiler alumni with seven, with one, Roman Hamrlík already mentioned in this article.
Hamrlík was acquired by the Oilers, along with Paul Comrie, in a trade for Bryan Marchment, Steve Kelly, and Jason Bonsignore. The left-shot defenceman spent parts of three seasons with the Oilers, scoring 22 goals and 103 points in 196 games. At the end of the 2000 season, the Oilers sent him to the New York Islanders, acquiring Eric Brewer in the process.
Funnily enough, Hamrlík was involved in the Mark Messier trade tree. Messier, who is undoubtedly an Oilers legend (albeit not a Canucks legend), was teammates with Mike York, Tom Poti, Brian Leetch and Mike Richter on the 2001-02 Rangers.
Another player from the 2001-02 Rangers was Radek Dvořák, who the Oilers traded for on Mar. 11, 2003. Dvořák played parts of three seasons with the Oilers, scoring 27 goals and 86 points in 154 games, helping the team to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals where he picked up two assists in 16 games.
Dvořák wasn’t the only Czech player on the 2006 roster. Before the 2006 trade deadline, the Oilers Jaroslav Špaček. The defenceman played 31 games for the Oilers in 2005-06, scoring five goals and 19 points, along with three goals and 14 points in 24 games played.
Joining the Oilers a season later was Petr Sýkora. In 2006-07, he scored 22 goals and 53 points in 82 games but departed the Oilers after his contract ended at the end of the season. He signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning his second Stanley Cup in 2009.
The Oilers selected Martin Ručinský 20th overall in the 1991 draft. That pick was acquired in the Wayne Gretzky trade, but Ručinský only played two games with the Oilers before being traded to the Québec Nordiques for Ron Tugnutt and Brad Zavisha.
Jiří Dopita didn’t have much of an impact on the Oilers either, playing 21 games with the team in 2002-03 while scoring a goal and six points. He only played 73 National Hockey League games while playing most of his career overseas.
Vladimír Růžička was the assistant coach of Team Czechia. He played 25 games with the Oilers in 1989-90, scoring 11 goals and 17 points.
Former Oiler Jochen Hecht with Team Germany
Team Germany
You can bet your life savings that if Leon Draisaitl is healthy, he’ll play an important role for Team Germany in the 2026 Olympics. However, in 2002, Team Germany fell 5-0 to Team USA in the Quarterfinals.
Jochen Hecht is the last Oiler on the 2001-02 team we’ll look at. He was acquired from the St. Louis Blues in the Doug Weight trade, and the 2001-02 season was the only one he played with the Oilers. He scored 16 goals and 40 points in 82 games, essentially his career norm.
After the 2001-02 season, Hecht was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for two 2002 second-round picks. The Oilers used those picks to acquire Jeff Deslauriers and Jarret Stoll.
The other German player on the team was Martin Reichel, who was selected 37th overall by the Oilers in the 1992 draft and never played outside of Germany. If that name looks familiar, he’s the younger brother of Robert Reichel, who played for Czechia in the 2002 Olympics. Martin is also the father of Chicago Blackhawks forward Lukas Reichel and uncle of Manitoba Moose forward Kristian Reichel.
Team Switzerland
Team Switzerland wasn’t the team they are now back at the 2002 Olympics, as they finished with a 1-1-1 record in Group B action of the preliminary round.
That wasn’t due to netminder Martin Gerber, who finished with a tournament-leading 1.52 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage. Only allowing four goals, Team Switzerland failed to get out of the preliminary round as they scored five goals in front of Gerber.
As for Gerber’s National Hockey League career, he spent seven seasons in the NHL, finishing with a .911 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average in 229 games. His final season was in 2010-11, where he played three games and had a .958 save percentage and a 1.30 goals-against average.
Ralph Krueger coached Team Switzerland in the 2002 Olympics, as well as the Oilers two seasons after Gerber’s final season. In 2012-13, the Oilers were in a playoff spot in April thanks to a five-game winning streak, but ended the year poorly and missed the postseason. Krueger was let go of his duties. After his Oilers tenure, Krueger was the Chairman of Southampton F.C., yes, the Premier League team in England, before returning to coach the Buffalo Sabres. What a weird career.
Bengt-Åke Gustafsson was Krueger’s assistant. Gustafsson played two games with the Oilers back in their World Hockey Association days, scoring a goal and three points in two postseason games during the 1979 postseason. He played for the Washington Capitals from the 1979-80 season until the end of the 1998-89 season.
Edmonton Oilers forward Miroslav Satan with Team Slovakia
Team Slovakia
Like Team Switzerland, Team Slovakia was unable to make it out of the preliminary round, finishing with a 0-2-1 record and a -4 goal differential.
Miroslav Šatan was the most notable Oiler alumni on the roster, starting his career with the Oilers in 1995-96 where he scored 18 goals and 35 points. The following season, he scored 17 goals and 28 points in 64 games before the Oilers traded him to the Buffalo Sabres for Craig Millar and Barrie Moore.
It was a questionable trade, to say the least, as Millar played 36 games with the Oilers while Moore played four games with the Oilers. Šatan, on the other hand, went on to score 363 goals and 735 points in 1,050 National Hockey League games, winning the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins alongside former Oiler Bill Guerin.
Ľubomír Višňovský was the other Oiler alumni to play for Team Slovakia in 2002. Funnily enough, he was a part of the Jochen Hecht trade tree, as the Oilers moved Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene to acquire the defenceman. Višňovský played two seasons with the Oilers, scoring 18 goals and 63 points in 107 games.
Team Latvia
Team Latvia also missed out on actual group play, as they finished 1-1-1 in the preliminary round.
The only Oiler alumni who played for the team was Aleksandrs Kerčs. Selected 60th overall in the 1993 draft as a 26-year-old, he played five games with the Oilers in 1993-94, being held pointless. He also played 57 games in the American Hockey League with the Cape Breton Oilers, scoring 24 goals and 62 points, but returned to Europe during the 1994-95 season.
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