I was 19 years old, pumping gas and going nowhere. I was kind of a high school dropout at that point because I had left school to play hockey, but no one drafted me.

After scoring 42 points in 22 games in his freshman season of 1982–83 he spent the summer working with a skating instructor to improve his foot speed. He scored 45 points in 67 games with the Mighty Ducks and added 13 points in 21 playoff games.

He was named a tournament all-star in helping RPI win the 1985 national championship and in 1990–91 the NHL included him in its Second All-Star Team; he played in five All-Star Games. Known as an elite playmaker his career total of 1079 assists was the fifth highest total in NHL history at the time of his 2004 retirement. As a college player Oates was a standout forward for the RPI Engineers.