Kaebel follows father, uncles to sign with ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers

Laz Kaebel slapshot — Kaebel follows through on a shot from the point in the Midnight Mayhem game against Niagara on Nov. 2, 2024. (Photo by Simon Barbre)

It took a perfect scenario for former Liberty University Division I men's hockey defenseman Laz Kaebel, 24, to forgo his senior season with the Flames to pursue a professional opportunity with the Tulsa (Okla.) Oilers — an ECHL team his father once coached and two of his uncles played for.

"It's always hard when you leave Liberty as a senior, and even more so when you are a rising senior," Kaebel said. "I loved everything about Liberty, and it has given me so many things to take with me into life. (Head Coach) Kirk (Handy) is one in a billion. He cares so deeply about his players and the people around him. It is hard to leave people like that. Ultimately, God was calling me to be somewhere else, and when God calls, you answer."

Laz Kaebel with wife Tristana — Kaebel married former University of Minnesota forward Tristana Tatur on June 25.

It has been an eventful summer for Kaebel, who married Tristana Tatur, a former forward on the University of Minnesota's women's hockey team, on June 25. He will report to the Oilers' preseason camp on Oct. 4 and plans to complete his B.S. in Sport Management and B.S. in Health Sciences degrees through Liberty University Online Programs while launching his professional hockey career with the team he grew up rooting for in Tulsa.

"It will be cool to play for Tulsa given my family history," he said. "(The Oilers management) really liked the player that I was, not just because of my dad or my uncles. They pursued me and God's got perfect timing. We were super excited to say, 'Yes' and sign the contract."

The Oilers will play two preseason games before opening their season with a series at the Iowa Heartlanders (Oct. 17 and 19) and entertaining the Tahoe (Nev.) Knight Monsters in their first home series, Oct. 24 and 26 at the BOK Center, a 19,199-seat multipurpose arena that also hosts the Tulsa Oilers' Indoor Football League team.

"My dad, who played professional hockey for 12 years, sat me down and said, 'It's not every day that you get the opportunity to play the game that you love for money,'" Kaebel said. "Every kid plays dreams of playing this kids' game for a check, and I am hoping and praying I can do what I need to do and glorify God's name in doing it."

Butch Kaebel coach trading card

Karl "Butch" Kaebel, Laz's father, experienced a lengthy ECHL career as a left wing with the Knoxville (Tenn.) Cherokees (as a rookie in 1990-91), Dayton (Ohio) Bombers (1991-92), Birmingham (Ala.) Bulls (1992-93), Peoria (Ill.) Rivermen (in the IHL from 1993-96 and ECHL from 1996-98), Huntington (W.Va.) Blizzard (1998-00), Wheeling (W.Va.) Nailers (2000-01), and Tulsa (2001-'02) before coaching the Oilers for five seasons from 2003-08.

"I was around the guys all the time (at the ages of 5-7) and I would use their broken hockey sticks to play knee hockey with my brother," Laz Kaebel said.

After being born in Pekin, Ill., Kaebel moved with his family to Tulsa for nine years, where he started playing hockey at the age of 2 and developed a love for the game before spending five years in Texas and the past 10 years in Minnesota.

There, he participated in summer FCA Hockey camps in Alexandria, Minn., with Flames defenseman Nate Cox, now a graduate on the DII squad, and traveled to Tampa, Fla., to compete for the Tampa Bay Juniors in the USPHL Premier League and Philadelphia to play for the Philly Hockey Club in the NCDC before enrolling at Liberty.

Karl Kaebel currently runs Kaebel Hockey Training in the Twin Cities area, developing youth through NHL players' skills and skating with instruction, private lessons, and camps, something Laz Kaebel would like to continue after his playing career is finished.

Klage Kaebel, Laz's uncle who played collegiately with the NCAA Division I University of Alaska Anchorage from 1996-2000, spent four seasons with the Oilers in 2001-04 and 2005-06, when they were members of the CHL, totaling 57 goals and 93 assists in 232 games.

Laz's older uncle, Karson Kaebel, was a teammate of his brother Klage in 2001-02, his last season of professional hockey after playing for five ECHL programs over the previous seven years. He runs a hockey academy in the Dallas area that Laz plans to train out of when he's not working out with the Oilers.

Jentzen Kaebel, Karson's son and Laz's cousin, is a left-handed defenseman who was selected to play for the Flames' DI squad after last week's tryouts and will sport No. 77.

Ryan Finch Laz Kaebel — A serious Kaebel and smiling Flames forward Ryan Finch show opposite emotions in last season's Niagara game. (Photo by Simon Barbre)

"He is in a great spot, and I am hoping he can continue the legacy that I left at Liberty," Laz Kaebel said. "I am proud to be a Liberty (Hockey) alumnus. I will always have a special place in my heart and encourage people to go to Liberty. God's hand is on that school, and there are so many things that I have learned that I know Jentzen will learn. I am hoping he will have the same types of opportunities and be able to meet people that will be friends with for the rest of his life, as I did, making forever friends at Liberty."

Karson Kaebel's oldest son will play for the Oklahoma City Warriors in the NAHL, an hour's drive away in Tulsa.

"It will be nice to be back as I have family there and family in Texas," Laz Kaebel said.

For now, Kaebel is training with a few ECHL players as well as others from the AHL and NHL near his adopted hometown of Prior Lake, Minn.

"I've been training with and around pros all summer," Kaebel said. "There are some great mentors up here, and it is nice to see how they prepare day-in and day-out. They prepare like pros, look like pros, and act like pros, so it has been good to adopt those characteristics."

Laz Kaebel Team USA — Kaebel represented Team USA at the Winter World University Games in Torino, Italy, last January.

He said his contract does not guarantee he will stay with the Oilers through the 2025-26 season.

"In the ECHL, it's a one-day contract, so you have to have the philosophy of giving it your all every day and being as prepared as you can," Kaebel said. "The whole coaching staff at Liberty developed that mentality in me, and I will carry that going forth in my profession."

He anticipates the transition from juniors and collegiate hockey to the ECHL to be a challenging one.

"It's a huge jump," Kaebel said. "There's some ACHA players that play in the ECHL, and also some from NCAA Division I and Division III, players from all over. It will be a big step for me, but I have been training my butt off and am prepared for this opportunity."

The Oilers will play a 70-plus-game schedule with potential for more games in the playoffs.

"We'll travel all over the country, so it's going to be fun," Kaebel said, noting Tulsa made the playoffs last season before being eliminated in the best-of-seven first-round series. "It is a longer season and hard on the body, but it's professional hockey, and you've got to bring it every night."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

Laz Kaebel bench — Kaebel left a legacy at Liberty that he hopes his younger cousin, Jentzen, also a defenseman, will carry on in the 2025-26 season.

Kaebel follows father, uncles to sign with ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers

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