| Contact information Address: Oklahoma Warriors 8000 S I-35 Service Rd Oklahoma City, OK 73149Website:oklahomawarriors.com |  |
| Tryout Information Dates Location Contact Jul 8 – 12, 2024 Main CampBlazers Ice Centre Oklahoma City, OKNate Weossner, Associate Head CoachEmailRegistration Info | |
The Oklahoma Warriors are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League’s South Division. The Warriors played their first two years in Wichita Falls, Texas, at Kay Yeager Coliseum. The team joined the NAHL in 2020, with the 2020-21 season serving as their first year.
On April 14, 2020, the Warriors announced their inaugural head coach, Garrett Roth. Roth was a former assistant coach with the Bismarck Bobcats and Aberdeen Wings and serves as the Warriors’ head coach and general manager.
Roth worked as the associate head coach and director of player personnel in Bismarck before arriving in Wichita Falls. He played Division I college hockey at Bemidji State after setting numerous team records as a forward with the Bismarck Bobcats.
On October 24, 2019, the NAHL announced that they had approved the membership application submitted by Robbie Hockey LLC, an entity owned and operated by Mary Anne Choi, for a team in Wichita Falls, Texas. On November 26, 2019, the Warriors name was selected out of Warriors, Flames, Reign, and Falcons via a name-the-team contest.
The Warriors played their first game on October 18, 2020, at Kay Yeager Coliseum in front of over 1,000 fans. Kay Yeager Coliseum was formerly the home of the Wichita Falls Rustlers (2002-04) and Wichita Falls Wildcats (2004-17) hockey teams, who both previously played in the NAHL.
Wichita Falls picked up the first win in franchise history on November 7, 2020, with a 6-4 home win over the Shreveport Mudbugs. The Warriors would rally forward to have a dominant first season in Wichita Falls that included an 11-game win streak, an NAHL record for a first-year team.
On May 21, 2021, the Warriors defeated the Lone Star Brahmas 5-3 on the road for their first postseason win. The team would sweep Lone Star 3 games to 0 with their first home postseason win, a 4-2 win over the Brahmas on May 29, 2021. In the South Division Finals, they would lose to the eventual league champions, Shreveport Mudbugs.
The Warriors would qualify for the Robertson Cup for the second time in their two-year franchise history, collecting 78 points and the third seed.
After the 2022 Robertson Cup, the Warriors were rebranded as the Oklahoma Warriors and will play the 2022-2023 season in the Blazers Ice Centre in Oklahoma City.
First Season: 30-19-1-6 (67 pts)
Second Season: 35-17-5-3 (78 pts)
Team President & Director of Player Personnel: Wade Chiodo
Contact: wchiodo.okwarriors@gmail.com
The Warriors’ Director of Player Personnel since the beginning, Wade Chiodo begins the 2023-24 season with the added title of Team President.
Chiodo, along with being the head scout, takes on the role of marketing the Warriors’ brand and promoting the game of hockey as the team embarks on its second season in Oklahoma City.
Chiodo is entering his seventh season in the North American Hockey League. He spent three seasons (2017-20) as the Director of Scouting for the Bismarck Bobcats, where Garrett Roth was serving as assistant coach. When Roth accepted the Head Coach and General Manager position with the Warriors, Chiodo followed him to Wichita Falls.
As Director of Player Personnel, Chiodo has helped bring over 20 future Division I hockey commits to the Warriors, including 11 who were a part of the 2023 Robertson Cup championship team.
The Thief River Falls, Minn. native played three years in the United States Hockey League with Des Moines as a right winger. Chiodo attended Bemidji State University from 2001 through 2004, logging 104 collegiate games played and 56 career points in three seasons. He served as head coach of the Bemidji High School program from 2008-17, then Grand Rapids High School from 2019-23.
Chiodo resides in Grand Rapids, Minn.
Head Coach & General Manager: Garrett Roth
Contact: groth.okwarriors@gmail.com
The only head coach and general manager in franchise history, Garrett Roth enters his fourth season at the helm of the Oklahoma Warriors. Roth, a proven winner as a player and coach, owns a 109-50-17 record entering this season.
Roth completed his most successful season yet in 2022-23, capturing the 2023 Robertson Cup after a league-best 44-14-2 regular season record. With a perfect 9-0 mark in the Robertson Cup playoffs, the Warriors became the first team in 19 years to go through the playoffs undefeated. In addition to six individual player awards, the Warriors won Organization of the Year and Roth was named Coach of the Year by the North American Hockey League.
Roth joined the Wichita Falls Warriors as an expansion team in 2020, the only head coaching job of his career. In a remarkable run for a first-year team, the group amassed a 30-19-7 record and swept their first-round playoff series against the Lone Star Brahmas. The Warriors improved on that record with 35 wins in the 2021-22 season. Roth has made the playoffs in all three seasons as head coach.
Prior to Wichita Falls, Roth accumulated an extensive coaching resume, all in the NAHL. After two seasons as the Aberdeen Wings’ assistant coach, Roth took on the same role for the Bismarck Bobcats in 2012. In eight seasons behind the bench, the Bobcats posted six playoff appearances and two Central Division playoff championships.
A native of Cary, Illinois, Roth played three seasons of junior hockey. After playing 13 games for the NAHL’s Springfield Jr. Blues, Roth went to the Bismarck Bobcats—then part of the America West Hockey League—and became the most prolific scorer in team history. His 70 career goals and 156 career points are records that still stand today. Roth played three seasons of Division I college hockey at Bemidji State University and graduated in the class of 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice.
Garrett and his wife, Lauren, live in Oklahoma City with their son Jaxon and daughter Leigha.
Assistant General Manager & Associate Head Coach: Nate Weossner
Contact: nweossner.okwarriors@gmail.com
Nate Weossner joins the Warriors’ staff as assistant general manager and associate head coach for the 2023-24 season.
Weossner comes to Oklahoma City following one season as Vice President of Business Operations with the NAHL’s North Iowa Bulls. He has been coaching since 2009 and his diverse gamut of experience includes time at the NAHL, USHL, NCAA Division III, AAA, and Minnesota High School levels.
Weossner is familiar with the NAHL’s South Division. His most recent coaching stop at this level came in Corpus Christi, where he served as head coach of the IceRays in 2020.
During his four seasons as assistant coach with the United States Hockey League’s Des Moines Buccaneers, Weossner mentored many Division I players and numerous professionals.
A native of Bemidji, Minn., Weossner played hockey for Bemidji High School before spending a year in Fort Frances, Ont. with the Borderland Thunder of the SIJHL. Weossner played one season of Division III hockey at the University of Minnesota-Crookston before returning home to Bemidji State University. He pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Studies Education and graduated in the class of 2009.
Nate moved to Oklahoma City in August of 2023.
