The Okotoks Oilers have a new voice.
Mike Gould has been named the new play-by-play announcer for Oilers games, as well as Coordinator of Game Ops and Communications.
Gould isn't new to the Green and Gold as he has done work as a PA announcer, helped Tyler King with some colour commentary, and other key roles with the team.
"Well it's really exciting, I first came to the Oilers three seasons ago, in 2021. It was kind of serendipitous, I sent an email to both the Calgary Canucks and the Okotoks Oilers, and I heard back from Okotoks. It's a little further away but it was a really interesting opportunity to be able to come in and start helping out and volunteering in any way that I could. I spent three seasons sort of doing incrementally more. I started off as the PA announce, I helped out with some social media stuff last year, I helped launch our online store which has been really successful so far, and now it's really exciting to be able to travel with the team which is something I got my first taste of last year. It was a lot of fun going up to Grande Prairie, we won't be going there this year but, to be able to go some of those places in B.C. and see some really good hockey, it's going to be a lot of fun," Gould said.
This will be the first year where the Okotoks Oilers have been fully integrated with the BCHL as they will play more than just the Alberta teams like they did to end their season. It's something that excites Gould as he moves forward with the team.
"You know last year with how things went, it was all sort of flying by the seat of our pants with a lot of respect. We were in the BCHL, but in a lot of ways it didn't feel like it because we were only playing against Alberta teams. We became very acquainted with the Spruce Grove Saints, Brooks Bandits, Blackfalds Bulldogs, and the Sherwood Park Crusaders. We still had a very surface-level read on the other teams in the B.C. league, and now I think there are 21 teams and we are going to be playing I think a little bit more than half of them this year. We are going to get a real trial by fire early on, we are going to go into B.C. really quickly," he said.
Some of those teams that the Oilers will play early on are the Cranbrook Bucks, the Penticton Vees, Salmon Arm Silverbacks, the Surrey Eagles, and the Coquitlam Express in the first 30 days of the season.
"It's going to be a real interesting experience, I think it's going to be something as well where those teams coming to Okotoks is not just going to be exciting for us but, exciting for our fans. That's the big thing that we are trying to get out there as we get to the end of the summer and get into the fall that it's not just that we are going to B.C., it's that B.C. is coming to us. It's just such a big opportunity for us to bring something different to our fans," Gould added.
A Calgary Canucks loss was an Okotoks Oilers gain as Gould reached out to both teams back in 2021 and was given an opportunity by the Green and Gold first.
"What ended up happening was shortly after I reached out to the Oilers, I was contacted back and I was essentially brought to Okotoks in a similar fashion, I suppose, as if I was being recruited to play for the team. It was kind of interesting in that I was brought in to sort of tour the arena. I saw all of our amenities and facilities. I was sort of asked what I wanted to do and, at that point, I didn't have much experience in doing much of anything in hockey. I knew that Gino De Paoli was still there doing our play-by-play and so it was just a matter of finding the role that was best for me. I said I was very keen and interested in doing whatever and ultimately my position evolved to a great degree. By the end of last season I was writing all of our game recaps on our website which is something that's part of my job now, it's very much something I got to do and keep doing," he said.
"At the start, I think it was an instance of, they had a guy who was doing it and then it was just a coincidence that as soon as I reached out I think he reached out and said 'I don't think I can do this anymore,' and it opened that door."
With former broadcaster and assistant general manager of business operations, Tyler King, leaving for the Nanaimo Clippers, the door became open for Gould to take over as he has had his hands on many different aspects of the team, including colour commentary.
Gould mentioned that he has had a lot of help from everyone in the organization and all have been really receptive to him being named the voice of the Green and Gold.
In addition to the graphics, commentating, and being the go-to guy for communications with the team, another part of the Oilers that he has thoroughly enjoyed has been working with the team's online store.
"It's been so successful since we launched it at the end of the 2023-2024 regular season. We have had a ton of really great orders, we have had people who are parents of some of our American players, or old billets of players, or even old players themselves and their families. Being able to reach out and be able to buy something that associates them with the Oilers, which hasn't been an avenue that has been there before," Gould mentioned.
"For us to be able to ship stuff out to the States, for us to be able to engage with them in that sort of e-commerce platform has been so educational for me to be able to see how that works, able to grow it, and try to add to our product inventory."
Gould has had a passion for hockey for a long time and stated he started playing the game when he was about seven or eight years old. He mentioned that while he was playing hockey he became friends with Louis and Ethan Jamernik who both are currently playing in the NCAA. After playing the game until he was 14 years old he found out how to use his passion for both hockey and writing which led him to write about the Calgary Flames.
He is very excited about the team that has been built this summer and expects the fans to be thrilled with the Oilers once they hit the ice in September.
"The fans in Okotoks are going to get to meet some of our players, we have been a little coy on exactly who we'll comprise our team next season. But I'm really confident that once fans get to know some of our players for the upcoming season, it's going to be really exciting. We have got some Americans who are coming in, we've got some really good Albertans coming in. I would say to an extent greater than some of the other Alberta teams that are coming over. Just from my standpoint, I think we have the more interesting mix of Albertans and Americans. We are going to have a team that is really skilled while also being really in tune with what our community wants to see. I think we are going to be really competitive, and my hope is that we can show some of these B.C. teams that we have got great hockey on this side of the border too. I'm really excited, I think we are going to have a really good season," he said.