Achi news desk-
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 the age of 13 when he was looking for something to watch on TV one night and came across a new channel that was broadcasting North American sports.
His childhood love of “Back to the Future,” starring Edmonton native Michael J. Fox and Edmonton professional wrestler Chris Benoit, eventually drew him into Oilers fandom. The team’s Stanley Cup victory in his year of birth, 1985, sealed what would become a lifelong dedication.
“I always put it this way,” the 38-year-old from Blackpool, Lancashire, said on Saturday: “I didn’t choose the Edmonton Oilers. The Edmonton Oilers chose me.”
Jericho is one of Canada’s countless hockey team fans eagerly following this year’s Stanley Cup Finals, which in addition to the Oilers includes 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 vacation to attend four Oilers games this season.
“I hope they’re going to go all the way,” he said. “I really am.”
Meanwhile, Bobby St. Laurent, a self-described diehard Jets fan and season ticket holder settled in to watch Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night on television.
But don’t feel too bad for him – that’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 service room to room and I’ll be cheering on our Jets.”
“I’ve got a Jets tank top I’ll wear tomorrow and I’ve 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 sold popcorn at their games at Winnipeg Arena, will be back in town to watch Game 2 on Tuesday night personally.
And he plans to participate in Winnipeg’s famous Whiteout parties, where thousands of fans gather 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 at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Square where fans had gathered to watch their team’s opening game against the Boston Bruins. They lost 5-1 and will return to the ice on Monday.
Further west, Aaron J. Harder, 44, of Vancouver said many Canadian hockey fans underestimated the Canucks.
“A lot of Canadian hockey fans didn’t understand how good the Canucks were,” he said. Until last year, “they didn’t have the training to put it all together,” he argued.
Despite the Canadian teams’ strong performance in this year’s playoffs, Harder said the competition between teams obscured any sense of unified, national pride in the achievement.
“I think most hockey fans in Canada are not ‘Go Canada!’ They will go with their team, which is part of the problem,” he said. “They’re not really into Canada because there’s so much tribalism between the hockey fans.”
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 21, 2024.
-with files from Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton.
