Coaches & Staff

Tyler Deis

Head Coach and General Manager

The longest-serving head coach in franchise history, Tyler Deis enters his eighth season as Head Coach and General Manager of the Okotoks Oilers in 2023-24, and his eleventh overall with the organization.

A two-time AJHL Coach of the Year (2018, 2020) and CJHL Coach of the year in 2018, Deis has overseen the growth of the Oilers into a perennial top-tier contender in Alberta, as well as one of its best producers of NCAA Division I talent.

During Deis’ tenure, the team finished first overall for the first time in franchise history in 2017-18, winning a South Division championship, and finished first in its division in 2019-20.

He began with the team in the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach before being named its fourth head coach on June 6th, 2016.

He crossed the 200-win mark in the 2021-22 campaign, and has now recorded a 243-102-21 (.693) regular season record with the team, with a playoff record of 40-24 (.625). 27 players have committed to NCAA Division I schools while playing in-season with the team during his tenure, which has also included six alumni being drafted into the NHL, two of which were first round selections.

Prior to his team with Okotoks, Deis was instrumental in building the hockey programs at the Edge School, while also serving as its midget team’s head coach until 2013. As a player, he played three years in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with Melfort and Yorkton before a four-year tenure with NCAA Divison I Minnesota State University Mankato. Subsequently he played a five year ECHL pro career before moving into coaching and teaching.

In August of 2022, the Oilers announced that Deis had signed a long-term contract extension with the team, securing his services potentially to the end of the 2029-30 season.

Derek Purfield

Assistant / Goaltending Coach

Derek Purfield enters his eleventh season with the Okotoks Oilers in 2023-24.

Previously, he spent six seasons with the Calgary Buffaloes organization prior to joining the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League for five seasons. Simultaneously to the latter assignment, he served on the coaching staff of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.

Purfield also consults for Hockey Alberta with their regional goaltending development and Under-16 programs. He won a silver medal at the 2017 WHL Cup as goaltending coach of Team Alberta, and served on the coaching staff of Team Alberta at the 2019 and 2023 Canada Winter Games.

His tenure with the Oilers has included a win by Riley Morris as AJHL Top Goaltender in 2017-18, as well as top goalie nominations for Morris in 2016-17, Brady Parker in 2018-19 and 2019-20, and Jack McNaughton in 2021-22.

Reid Hnatowich

Assistant Coach

Reid Hnatowich enters his sixth season with the Okotoks Oilers in 2023-24.

He has worked with players at nearly all levels, from professionals in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL to high-end performers in the NCAA, WHL, and CJHL, to the earliest ages of hockey development. Certified HP1 by Hockey Canada, he serves as both an on-ice instructor with Tanbridge Academy and owner of Push It Hockey Ltd, which operates development camps throughout the year in Southern Alberta as well as partnering with both the Calgary Northstars and Calgary Buffaloes.

His other bench roles have included assistant and head coaching roles with the Bantam AAA Airdrie Xtreme (2014-19), winning the AMBHL championship in 2017-18, assistant and skills coaching for the Midget AAA Strathmore Bisons (2016-17), and Coach Mentor/Association Skill Development Coach with the Okotoks Oilers Athletic Association (2019-20).

Brody Hailwood

Assistant Coach & Equipment Manager

Brody Hailwood enters his fourth season with the Okotoks Oilers in 2023-24 as Assistant Coach and Equipment Manager.

A team alumnus, he suited up in 40 games for the Oilers in the 2015-16 season before beginning his coaching career with the South East Athletic Club (SEAC) in Medicine Hat, for whom he played prior to his junior career. He served as an assistant coach for the U16 AAA Tigers for 3 years, and subsequently moved to Okotoks for an assistant coach role with the U18 Okotoks Oilers of the AEHL.

Certified HP1 by Hockey Canada, Brody also serves as a lead on-ice instructor with Push It Hockey Ltd.

Courtney Owen

Athletic Therapist

Courtney Owen enters her third season with the Okotoks Oilers in 2022-24.

A Certified Athletic Therapist from the Okotoks community, Courtney graduated from Foothills Composite High School in 2013. Shen then went on to pursue an education in Athletic Therapy at Mount Royal University from 2014-2018 where she worked with both its Women’s & Men’s hockey teams, the University of Calgary Women’s Rugby team and the University of Calgary Men’s Football team.

After graduating from Mount Royal, Courtney continued to work in multiple youth sports, as well as the Alberta youth Whitecaps Soccer combines in British Columbia in 2018 and the Telus & Esso Cup in 2022. Over the last few years Courtney served as Certified Athletic Therapist to the Okotoks Minor Hockey Association and was found on the bench with many of the minor teams before joining the Okotoks Oilers.

Tyler King

Assistant General Manager, Business Operations

Tyler King enters his fourth season with the Okotoks Oilers as Assistant General Manager, Business Operations in 2023-24, overseeing all off-ice operations of the team and serving as the team’s lead radio broadcaster on The Eagle 100.9 FM.

Coming to the team after serving with Hockey Canada as Logistics Manager for the 2021 World Junior Hockey Championships, he previously worked for the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits (2015-2019) as its Communications Manager and later Business Manager, and chaired the 2019 National Junior A Championship (now known as the Centennial Cup), the most financially successful-ever iteration of the event. In his time in Brooks, the Bandits became pace leaders in Junior A for digital and social media content.

He moved to Alberta in 2011 to serve as play-by-play broadcaster for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, for whom he was eventually named the team’s Manager of Communications before moving to Brooks. In his time in Fort McMurray he oversaw the first implementation of a video scoreboard for an AJHL team, and chaired the bid committee of the 2015 Western Canada Cup that was awarded to the Oil Barons.

He graduated from Syracuse University in 2010 with a Master of Science in Broadcast and Digital Journalism, before beginning his tenure in the CJHL as a broadcaster for the Kingston Voyageurs in the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Brady Pupp

Business Operations Lead

Brady Pupp enters his first season with the Okotoks Oilers as Business Operations Lead in 2023-24, overseeing corporate partnerships and administration for the team.

An AJHL alumnus with the Calgary Mustangs and Bonnyville Pontiacs, Pupp joins the team after four years at Marian University in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, where he earned a degree in Sport and Recreation Management and Marketing, while tallying 20 points in 69 games for the school’s NCAA Division III hockey team. Prior to his college hockey career, he played 156 games at the Junior A level in both the AJHL and Manitoba Junior Hockey League after being recruited out of the Calgary Buffaloes