Former Oilers owner elected to the CHL Hall Of Fame
Former Tulsa Oilers owner Jeff Lund accepts award from N. Thomas Berry in 2009
The Central Hockey League announced Wednesday that the former owner of the Tulsa Oilers, Jeff Lund, will be inducted into the CHL Hall Of Fame.
Lund was selected along with longtime Wichita Thunder and Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs forward Travis Clayton into the 2014 class. Lund enters the Hall of Fame as one of the most decorated and successful executives in league history serving in many capacities for more than two decades.
Lund started as the General Manager of the Tulsa Oilers in 1992 and then after purchasing the Oilers in 1999, served as the team’s President. Under Lund’s direction, the Oilers won the 1992-93 CHL Championship and went on to six straight postseason appearances. During Lund’s tenure as General Manager, the Oilers averaged more than 5,500 fans per game.
He also doubled as the team President for the Wichita Thunder from 2008 to 2011.
One of his biggest achievements was negotiating the lease and transitioning the Oilers into the BOK Center, one of the best all-purpose facilities in North America.
In 2009, Lund was awarded the Rick Kozuback Award, given for perseverance, determination and commitment to the game of hockey, as he battled back from cancer.
Lund was also a member of the executive bargaining committee that negotiated the CHL’s first Collective Bargaining Agreement and also served on the CHL’s Board of Directors for many years. In the summer of 2013, Lund sold the Oilers to Steven Brothers Sports Management, LLC but continues to be involved in the growth of hockey in the Tulsa community. Lund is the owner of the Oilers Ice Center, a public skating facility that serves as a practice rink for the Oilers, Junior Oilers, and all of Tulsa’s competitive youth hockey programs.
Lund, who will join his nephew Brad Lund (Class of 2013) in the CHL Hall of Fame, is part of the CHL’s third Hall of Fame class and will be inducted in the “Builder” category. He joins Doug Lawrence, the Oilers all-time points leader, who was inducted in 2013.
Formal induction will occur sometime in the 2014-15 CHL season.