History
The last incarnation of the Blazers came into being in 1992 with the revival of the CHL. They were one of the most successful minor league hockey franchises of all time, routinely drawing 8,000 fans or more. On ice, the Blazers excelled as well, winning an unprecedented nine regular season division championships (including seven straight, 1996-2003), five regular-season points titles and CHL championships in 1996 and 2001. The franchise's two great stars, Joe Burton and Hardy Sauter, are the CHL's first and third all-time career leading scorers, and Burton is the fourth leading goal scorer in minor league hockey history.
In 2009 the Blazers withdrew their lease with Oklahoma City and ceased operations stating that "it is not economically feasible for us to go on at this point." Following years of speculation, Oklahoma City was officially granted an AHL franchise on February 10, 2010. The new AHL team is called the Oklahoma City Barons. They began play in the 2010-11 season as the top affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers.
Read more about this topic: Oklahoma City Blazers
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
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—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“It’s a very delicate surgical operation—to cut out the heart without killing the patient. The history of our country, however, is a very tough old patient, and we’ll do the best we can.”
—Dudley Nichols, U.S. screenwriter. Jean Renoir. Sorel (Philip Merivale)