Connecticut Oilers
| Connecticut Oilers | |
|---|---|
| City | Hamden, Connecticut |
| League | Eastern Hockey League |
| Division | Premier - South Division |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Home arena | Louis Astorno Arena |
| Colors | Green, Black, Gray, and White |
| Owner(s) | Ryan Hughes Jacques de Saint Phalle |
| General manager | Sean Donohue |
| Head coach | Karl Lindén |
| Franchise history | |
| 1996–2012 | Capital District Selects |
| 2012–present | Connecticut Oilers |
| Championships | |
| Playoff championships | 2014–15 |
The Connecticut Oilers are a Junior Tier III ice hockey team from Hamden, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL).
The Oilers organization also had youth teams, ranging from age groups of 6 to 16-years-old, and competed in the Atlantic Youth Hockey League (AYHL) out of the SoNo Icehouse in Norwalk, Connecticut. However, these teams joined the Connecticut RoughRiders organization when the Oilers relocated to Hamden.
The franchise was founded as the Capital District Selects playing out of Troy, New York. After several seasons as an independent midget team, the CD Selects joined the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) in 1998 as a part-time member, joining full-time in 1999. The team was owned and coached by former RPI coach Jim Salfi. Beginning with the 2002–03 season, the Selects played in the Eastern Junior Hockey League's South Division, until the Boston Junior Shamrocks were sold and moved to Philadelphia which moved the Selects to the North Division.
In 2012, the team was sold and relocated to Norwalk, Connecticut, and renamed the Connecticut Oilers and became affiliated with the United States Hockey League's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. During the summer of 2013, Tier III junior hockey was drastically reorganized in the north eastern United States resulting in the Oilers moving to the Atlantic Junior Hockey League. On June 6, 2013, the AJHL became the Eastern Hockey League.
The Oilers would have their best season in 2014–15 and won the EHL playoffs and league championship. Winning the league championship would normally qualify the team for the 2015 USA Hockey Tier III National Championships, however due to a clerical error with a pair of the Oilers' import player's paperwork, the runner-up Northern Cyclones represented the EHL. Due to these circumstances, the EHL would later void their playoff championship and claim a "vacant" playoff champion for that season.
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