Sports stats



CHL Tulsa Oilers

Steffes a Finalist for CHL Man of the Year Award

March 14, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release


GLENDALE, AZ - The Central Hockey League announced today that Oilers center Gary Steffes is one of five finalists for the CHL Man of the Year Award.

The CHL Man of the Year award is 'presented annually to the Central Hockey League player judged to have best exemplified strong leadership qualities on and off the ice, while making significant and noteworthy humanitarian contributions to his community. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, March 19.

Steffes, in his third pro season and third with the Oilers, gives of his time and talents to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Specifically, Steffes works for FCA Hockey and is part of a group that travels the world sharing the gospel through hockey camps and clinics. Last summer, Steffes and several FCA staff members traveled to Turkey where they were able to grow the game of hockey, share their stories with children, and assist in building the foundation for a youth hockey program. The 25-year old approaches his volunteer work with the same kind of passion he shows on the ice.

"I believe Gary is very deserving of this honor," said Oilers Head Coach, Bruce Ramsay. "He is one of the hardest working players I've ever coached and off the ice, I think every single person who meets Gary sees that he is genuinely positive and always willing to help. He steps up to the plate whenever we need players for community appearances and he's the perfect representative of our organization."

This season, Steffes has been a fixture in the Tulsa community, helping the Oilers with a Habitat for Humanity build and continuously appearing at local area schools to talk with kids about the importance of education, hard work, and commitment.

A Grand Blanc, Michigan native, Steffes is active in his Tulsa church and leads a chapel service for Oilers players before each road game.

2012-13 Man of the Year Finalists

Jon Booras, Bloomington

David Simoes, Missouri

Scott Wray, Rapid City

Gary Steffes, Tulsa

Travis Wight, Wichita

CHL Man of the Year (previous winners, since 2001)

2012 - Riley Weselowski (Rapid City)

2011 - Simon Watson (Missouri)

2010 - Justin Quenneville (Corpus Christi)

2009 - Austin Sutter (Amarillo)

2008 - Stacey Bauman (Oklahoma City)

2007 - Riley Nelson (Colorado)

2006 - Paul Fioroni (Lubbock)

2005 - Paul Fioroni (Lubbock)

2004 - Don Parsons (Memphis)

2003 - Anthony Donskov (Lubbock)

2002 - Scott Hillman (Odessa)

Check out the Tulsa Oilers Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...

Central Hockey League Stories from March 14, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central