Casper Roughnecks are Ready to Bring Hockey Back to the Oil City

Casper, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - The Oil City is set to get a new hockey franchise, as the Casper Roughnecks are coming into town.

The head coach and team owner of the Roughnecks, Danny Randall, is looking forward to bringing hockey back to Casper.

Randall said, “You know, Casper had been on my list for a while, just... I like the population, the size of the city, the fact that they had juniors before. You know I’m just excited to be in a community that looks like they want hockey there.”

The Casper Rec Center will get more lively in the fall, as the Roughnecks will be playing at the Casper Ice Arena.

They will be a part of the United States Premier Hockey League, in the Northwest Division.

They were originally the Rock Springs Prospectors, before being bought out of Rock Springs, and that ultimately led coach Randall to move the team to Casper.

Last season the Prospectors finished 3rd in the Northwest Division with a 15-27-2 record that got them into the playoffs. They would lose in the first round of the USPHL playoffs.

The Roughnecks may be a new team coming into town, but they will be all about helping the community.

He said, “These young men are... They’re here for hockey, but if there’s stuff that they can do for the community that supports them, I have 27 able bodies, young men that will do whatever they can, and don’t get me wrong I’ll also be at every single one of those events.”

Speaking of the community, Randall wants to make the first home game that they have free to the public.

He said, “Opening night will be free to the city of Casper. There will be no cost for tickets. I want to try to get as many people in the building as possible and just try to get people excited.”

One of the most important things to Coach Randall is not only the development of his players skills, but also their character.

He talked about how he is on the ice, saying, “Inside the glass I’m pretty intense, outside I’m more chill, but I like to compete... I’m also there to not only make them better hockey players but better men as well.”

Coach Randall and the Roughnecks are very excited to be in Casper, and are looking to help out the community of Casper anyway they can.

The Roughnecks are looking for host families for their players, if you can help out, you can go to their website at http://casperroughnecks.hockeyshift.com/ to inquire, as well as people to come down and help out game day operations and take charge of their social media accounts.

Correction: This article previously stated that the Roughnecks are a semi-pro team. It has been updated to accurately state that it is a junior hockey team.

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