The Tulsa Oilers bid farewell to two key players, Defensemen Andrew Lucas and Oliviér Dame-Malka, as they embark on new journeys overseas. This departure marks the third player to leave the team this week. The Oilers, who had a commendable 40-24-8 season, and post season made it to the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. However, their journey was cut short as the Kansas City Mavericks emerged victorious in the Mountain Division Semifinals with a 4-2 score.
Andrew Lucas
A 26-year-old from Alexandria, Virginia, USA, has signed with HC Banská Bystrica, part of the Slovak Hockey League. Lucas attended one of the most prestigious high school hockey academies in the nation, The Loomis Chaffee School (USHS). He then moved to the BCHL, playing for the Langley Rivermen and the Nanaimo Clippers, earning one assist and one point with each team in seven games. After that, Lucas joined the AJHL, settling with the Brooks Bandits for 68 games, where he recorded 14 goals, 48 assists, and 62 points. He then headed to the University of Vermont for three seasons—two of which he served as captain—before finishing his final two seasons with the University of Connecticut. Across his five NCAA seasons, Lucas played 152 games, scoring 16 goals, 56 assists, and 72 points
Andrew would sign a Try Out Contract with the AHL San Diego Gulls at the end of the 2023-24 season. Lucas would stay with the Gulls and be assigned to the Oilers in the 2024-25 season. The Gulls would continue to call up Lucas throughout the season, dressing him for 26 total games, with no goals, six assists, and six total points. While with the Oilers, Andrew would see 45 games, six goals, 23 assists, and 31 points.
Oliviér Dame-Malka
A 35-year-old seasoned veteran from Montréal, QC, Canada, has signed with Gap, a team in France’s Ligue Magnus. Gap is the sixth team in the French ice hockey system that Olivier Dame-Malka has played for. Dame-Malka began his professional career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the mid-2000s, suiting up for teams such as the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, Acadie-Bathurst Titan, and Lewiston MAINEiacs. He later advanced to the AHL, joining the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Bulldogs would assigned Oliviér to the ECHL for more development in the 2011-12 season. Once in the ECHL, Oliviér would play for the Wheeling Nailers, Bakersfield Condors (pre-AHL promotion), Toledo Walleye, Florida Everblades, and Ontario Reign (pre-AHL promotion).
In 2014, Dame-Malka left the ECHL and headed to Ligue Magnus, where he spent three seasons—one with Dijon and two with Rouen. He then moved to the Slovak league, joining HC Banská Bystrica, but played only 13 games before returning to Ligue Magnus with Grenoble.
The 2018–19 season saw the Florida Everblades bring Dame-Malka back to the States for 20 games before he once again returned to Ligue Magnus, this time signing with Nice. He spent two seasons with the club, serving as captain during one of them. Following his time in Nice, Dame-Malka joined CMS Corona Brașov in the Romanian league for a season, then moved to Denmark to play for the Rødovre Mighty Bulls. After one season in Denmark, he returned to Ligue Magnus for the 2022–23 campaign.
From there, HC Banská Bystrica brought him back for an eight-game stint before he moved on to Frisk Asker in the Norwegian league, appearing in 14 games. He then joined Budapest Jegkorong Akadémia HC in the Erste Liga. In 2024, Dame-Malka returned to the United States once more, playing 56 games with the Tulsa Oilers.
Oliviér Dame-Malka league play breakdown
- AHL– 21 games, one goal, two assists, three total points
- Denmark- 40 games, four goals, two assists, six total points
- ECHL– 221 games, 30 goals, 62 assists, 92 total points
- Erste Liga- 42 games, eight goals, 13 assists, 21 total points
- Ligue Magnus- 201 games, 46 goals, 85 assists, 131 total points
- Norway- 14 games, zero goals, one assist, one total point
- QMJHL- 226 games, 33 goals, 81 assists, 114 total points
- Romania- 20 games, six goals, four assists, ten total points
- Slovakia- 21 games, zero goals, three assists, three total points.
With the ECHL protected list set to be released any day now, it will be interesting to see how the Oilers approach their offseason development. With two defensemen departing and forward Conner Roulette choosing to return to school, the team will be looking to strengthen its blue line and fill key gaps up front. Roulette will play next season under the U Sports umbrella with the University of Saskatchewan.
Discover more from Inside The Rink
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
