Fort McMurray, AB – The Fort McMurray Oil Barons are excited to announce that 20 year-old-forward Kole Gable (Fort McMurray, AB) has committed to the Grant MacEwan University Griffins of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC). Gable’s commitment will begin this Fall.
“Kole’s a dynamic, two-way forward that played a big role for us last season,” said Oil Barons Head Coach and General Manager Tom Keca. “As a local player with WHL experience, Kole was a leader on and off the ice for us last season.”
“As an organization, one of our main goals is to move players on to the next level. We’re excited for Kole and wish him all the best at Grant MacEwan next season,” added Keca.
Gable joined the Oil Barons last season, after spending three seasons in the WHL. In 58 games with the Oil Barons, Gable scored 65 points (24 goals, 41 assists) finishing second in team scoring and tied for 12th in league scoring. While Gable contributed offensively, he also played a significant role on the team’s penalty kill. Gable was often fearless and sacrificed his body on the penalty kill to block shots, helping lead the Oil Barons’ to the 2nd-best penalty kill (85.71%) amongst AJHL teams during the regular season.
Gable also served as an alternate captain last season, while his tireless work ethic and consistent play earned him the team’s Unsung Hero Award during the team’s awards banquet in March. He was also named a co-recipient of the Rody MacNeil Memorial Scholarship at the same awards banquet.
Prior to joining the Oil Barons, Gable appeared in 166 WHL games over three seasons. During that time, he recorded 39 points (18 goals, 21 assists) and contributed to the Swift Current Broncos’ WHL Championship season and Memorial Cup appearance in 2017/18.
“Kole is a big addition for our program,” said Griffins Head Coach Mike Ringrose. “He has experience at the WHL level and his offensive game really flourished this past season with Fort McMurray. He’s going to continue to get an opportunity to play that kind of role with us, and we’re optimistic that he can come in and replace some of the scoring that we graduated last season,” added Ringrose.
Gable becomes the seventh Oil Baron from the team’s 2018/19 roster to commit to a post-secondary institution and will join teammate Taner Miller at Grant McEwan next season. The other post-secondary committed players include Liam Izyk (Alabama-Huntsville, NCAA), Ryan Conroy (Yale, NCAA), Jaedon Leslie (Ohio State, NCAA), Peter Tomaras (Concordia, ACAC) and Reed Morison (Western, USPORTS).