SALT LAKE CITY- Hockey in Utah is on the rise as the Vernal Oilers out of Eastern Utah capped off an unbelievable season with a United States Premier Hockey League National Championship.
The Oilers, who went 44-0 in the regular season, 4-0 in the playoffs, and 2-0 in the Finals, took home some hardware after their 6-2 victory over the Springfield Pics.
YOUR 2025 NATIONAL CHAMPION VERNAL OILERS pic.twitter.com/ZHmb329ox3
— Vernal Oilers (@VernalOilers) March 24, 2025
The Vernal Oilers took the Premier Division of the USPHL by storm this season.
The Oilers are coached by Ryan Howse, a former Canadian hockey player. He was selected by the Calgary Flames in 2009 and even spent some time in West Valley City as a member of the Utah Grizzlies
The Oilers’ main point getter on the season was defenseman Filip Lezzani out of Puchov, Slovakia. While Filio only played 10 games during the Premier League Regular Season, he showed up and showed out when it mattered most during the playoffs.
Lezzani put in seven goals and dished out 20 assists from the blue line during the regular season, and in the postseason on Vernal’s path to a National Championship, he scored twice and assisted on six other goals.
While the club didn’t have anyone near the top of the league in points, their scoring was very deep with three skaters with more than 40 points on the year and six others with more than 30.
Additionally, three members of the Vernal Oilers have committed to college hockey programs due to their success and development in Eastern Utah. Jett McCullum and Filip Lezzani will both attend Portage College in Alberta, Canada, and Jakub Bulik will continue his hockey journey in the state of Utah and will play for the Weber State Wildcats. Both Portage and Weber State are members of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).
The Oilers arrived back in the Beehive State today and are celebrating their National Championship with a parade through the streets of Vernal.
Who Are The Vernal Oilers?
The Vernal Oilers are a Junior A Hockey Club in the United States Premier Hockey League. The club was founded in 2021 and consists of elite amateur players from regions like North America, Asia, and Europe who are looking for a springboard to the next level, whether that be colligate or professional hockey.
According to their website, “The Oilers will play a fast, physical brand of hockey that will provide affordable, family-friendly entertainment to those in the Ashley Valley throughout the fall and winter months.”
This year’s Vernal Oilers roster represented ten different countries from around the world, including the United States, Canada, Finnland, Italy, Russia, Hungary, Belarus, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
What is the United States Premier Hockey League?
The United States Premier Hockey League was founded in 2012 with the goal of exposing talented young hockey players to NCAA scouts and coaches in order to increase their chances of playing at the next level.
The Premier Division of the USPHL is Tier III hockey under the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), but it still provides elite competition.
This year alone, the Premier Division has cultivated 41 collegiate hockey offers to players throughout the league, adding to the more than 8,000 since the USPHL’s creation.
18 players from the NCDC, the USPHL’s Tier II league, have been drafted by NHL teams.
Tanner Tripp is a sports writer for KSL Sports covering all teams across the state of Utah. Follow him on X @tanner_tripp and Instagram @tanner.tripp here.
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