Strong Canadian showing in NHL playoffs is good news for fans
For Russ Jericho, seeing the Edmonton Oilers enter the Stanley Cup playoffs is the culmination of an unlikely passion.
Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Jericho said he was first exposed to hockey at age 13 when he was searching for something to watch on TV one evening and came across a new channel that broadcast North American sports.
His childhood love of “Back to the Future,” starring Edmonton native Michael J. Fox, and Edmonton-based professional wrestler Chris Benoit eventually drew him to the Oilers fandom. The team’s Stanley Cup victory in his birth year, 1985, sealed what would become a lifelong dedication.
“I always put it like this,” the now 38-year-old said from Blackpool, Lancashire, Saturday: “I didn't choose the Edmonton Oilers. The Edmonton Oilers chose me.”
Jericho is one of countless Canadian hockey team fans eagerly following this year’s Stanley Cup Finals, which in addition to the Oilers features the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets. Not since 2017 have so many Canadian teams made it to the tournament. And not since 1993 has Canada claimed a Stanley Cup championship.
Jericho said he spent part of his inheritance following his father’s death last year on a vacation to attend four Oilers games this season.
“I'm hoping they're going to go all the way,” he said. "I really am."
Meanwhile, Bobby St. Laurent, a self-described diehard Jets fan and a season-ticket holder has to settle for watching Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night on TV.
But don't feel too bad for him — it's because he and his girlfriend are at a resort in Cancun, Mexico.
"I'll be partying in the pool at the resort all day. And then I'll be in my room at 6 o'clock for the puck drop and I'll watch the whole game. I'll probably order room service to the room and I'll cheer on our Jets."
"I've got a Jets tank top I'll be wearing tomorrow and I've also got Jets shorts, too. I'll be ready to go."
St. Laurent, whose love affair with the Jets goes back to the 1970s when they were in the World Hockey Association and he sold popcorn at their games at Winnipeg Arena, said he'll be back in the city to watch Game 2 on Tuesday night in person.
And he plans on taking part in Winnipeg's famous Whiteout parties, where thousands of fans gather in the city's downtown for playoff games.
"I'm just a diehard Jets fan. I hope they go all the way this year. I was cautiously optimistic earlier in the year but I'm starting to believe now."
On Saturday night, there was disappointment in the air in Toronto's Maple Leaf Square where fans had gathered to watch their team's playoff opener against the Boston Bruins. They lost 5-1 and will return to the ice on Monday.
Farther west, Aaron J. Harder, 44, from Vancouver said many Canadian hockey fans have underestimated the Canucks.
“A lot of the Canadian hockey fans didn't understand how good the Canucks were,” he said. Until last year, “they just didn't have the coaching to put it all together,” he argued.
Despite the strong showing of Canadian teams in the playoffs this year, Harder said the inter-team rivalry is muddling any sense of unified, national pride at the achievement.
“I think most hockey fans aren't Canadian ‘Go Canada!’ They'll go with their team, which is part of the problem,” he said. "They’re not really for Canada because there's so much tribalism between the hockey fans."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2024.
-with files from Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Israel has briefed U.S. on plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of potential Rafah operation
Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the talks.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.