OILERS GO A-PROSPECTIN' FOR CUSTOMERS IN NORTHERN PROVINCE

          Starting today, Oilers President Patrick Laforge, Chair
     Cal Nichols and VP/Marketing & Communications Allan Watt
     will begin a three-day "barnstorming tour" of five
     communities in Northern Alberta "which boast substantial
     numbers" of season-ticket holders and potential sponsors for
     the team, according to Dan Barnes of the FACEOFF.com.  The
     group "will be mixing with business leaders," and "spreading
     the message that the Oilers "are back to being a responsible
     business as well as a great piece of entertainment." 
     Barnes, noting the changes within the Oilers organization
     are key to the tour: "There is business to be done and a new
     philosophy to be delivered into the hands of people who
     think nothing of a four-hour drive into Edmonton to watch a
     game" (FACEOFF.com, 8/24).