Oil Kings finalize leadership group
Edmonton, AB – The Edmonton Oil Kings have rounded out their leadership contingent for the 2021-22 season, the team announced today.
Joining Jake Neighbours, who was named the Oil Kings 14th captain in modern franchise history last week, will be full-time alternate captains Carter Souch and Dylan Guenther, while Josh Williams (red uniforms) and Simon Kubicek (white uniforms) will share duties as an alternate captain.
Souch, an Edmonton, AB product, is entering his fifth season in the Western Hockey League, all spent with the Oil Kings, after the club selected him in the fourth-round, 75th-overall, of the 2016 WHL Draft.
The 5-foot-10, 165-pound left winger is the longest tenured current Oil Kings skater having played 210 career games, tallying 139 points (42G, 97A), 81 penalty minutes and a +22 plus/minus rating. He also appeared in 10 post-season games during the 2019 playoffs, scoring one goal.
His 139 career regular season points currently ranks 10th all-time amongst Oil Kings skaters. He was the recipient of the Oil Kings Most Improved Player award for the 2018-19 season.
Guenther, also an Edmonton, AB product is in his third season in the WHL, having spent his entire career with the Oil Kings after being taken with the first-overall pick in the 2018 WHL Draft.
The 6-foot-1, 181-pound centermen has appeared in 95 career games, registering 106 points (50G, 56A), 40 penalty minutes and a +52 plus/minus rating.
He was named the WHL’s Rookie of the Year following the 2019-20 campaign in which he set franchise records for most goals (26) and points (59) by a rookie in a single season, becoming the first player in Oil Kings history to capture the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy. He followed that season up by being named the 2020-21 WHL Central Division Player of the Year and Most Sportsmanlike Player, all while also capturing a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2021 World Under-18 Championship where he had seven points (4G, 3A) in seven games.
Guenther is a prospect of the Arizona Coyotes after they selected him with the ninth-overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Williams, a Langley, BC native, is in his fifth season in the WHL and third full season with the Oil Kings after the team acquired him from the Medicine Hat Tigers on January 10th, 2019.
The 6-foot-1, 193-pound right winger has played 221 career games in the WHL, picking up 153 points (76G, 77A), 84 penalty minutes and a +23 plus/minus rating. He has played 129 of those games in an Oil Kings uniform, recording 111 points (55G, 56A), 62 penalty minutes and a +37 plus/minus rating. In his last 50 games, he has scored 33 goals.
In addition to his regular season experience, he also has the most post-season experience amongst all current Oil Kings players, having appeared in 21 playoff games, amassing eight points (4G, 4A), six penalty minutes and a +1 plus/minus rating.
Williams helped lead Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup where he put up six points (5G, 1A) in five games.
Kubicek, a Jindrichuv Hradec, Czech Republic native is in his third season in the WHL and first with the Oil Kings after being acquired by the club on January 25, 2021 from the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The 6-foot-2, 203-pound rearguard has played in 131 career games in the WHL, accumulating 65 points (21G, 44A), 140 penalty minutes and a +1 plus/minus rating. In 18 games this year with the Oil Kings, he sits tied for the team lead in points by a defenceman with 10 (5G, 5A).
During the 2019 WHL Playoffs with the Thunderbirds, he suited up in six games, scoring four points (1G, 3A), eight penalty minutes and -1 plus/minus rating.
He spent the 2020-21 season on loan playing in the Czech professional league appearing in 30 games, putting up three points (1G, 2A) in 21 games with Motor Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Extraliga and four points (1G, 3A) in nine games with HC Stadion Litomerice in the second division.
Kubicek has represented the Czech Republic several times internationally, most recently at the 2021 World Junior Championship in Edmonton, registering two points (1G, 1A) and 12 penalty minutes in four games. He also played for the Czech Republic at the 2020 World Junior Championship, the 2019 World Under-18 Championship and the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
