For Russ Jericho, watching the Edmonton Oilers make 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 one night he was looking for something to watch on television and stumbled upon a new channel showing 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 led him to Oilers fandom. The team’s Stanley Cup victory in his birth year, 1985, sealed what would become a lifelong dedication.
“I always said it like that,” the now 38-year-old said Saturday from Blackpool, Lancashire: “I didn’t choose the Edmonton Oilers. “The Edmonton Oilers picked me.”
Jericho is one of countless fans of the Canadian hockey team who are eagerly following this year’s Stanley Cup Finals, which in addition to the Oilers feature the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets. Since 2017, so many Canadian teams have not made the tournament. And since 1993, Canada has not won a Stanley Cup championship.
Jericho said he spent part of his inheritance after his father’s death last year on a vacation to attend four Oilers games this season.
“I hope they make it to the end,” he said. “I really am.”
Meanwhile, Bobby St. Laurent, a die-hard Jets fan and season ticket holder, has to settle for watching Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night on television.
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 at the resort pool all day. And then I’ll be in my room at 6 o’clock to drop off the puck and watch the whole game. I’ll probably order room service for the lounge and cheer on our Jets.”
“I have a Jets tank top that I’ll wear tomorrow and I also have Jets shorts. I’ll be ready to go.”
St. Laurent, whose love story with the Jets dates back to the 1970s, when they were in the World Hockey Association and he sold popcorn at their games at the Winnipeg Arena, said he will return to the city to watch the second game Tuesday night. in person.
And he plans to participate in Winnipeg’s famous Whiteout parties, where thousands of fans gather downtown for playoff games.
“I’m just a die-hard Jets fan. I hope they go all the way this year. I was cautiously optimistic at the beginning of the year, but now I’m starting to believe.”
On Saturday night, there was disappointment in the air at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Square, where fans had gathered to watch their team’s first playoff 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 have underestimated the Canucks.
“A lot of Canadian hockey fans didn’t understand how good the Canucks were,” he said. Until last year, “they just didn’t have the training to put it all together,” he argued.
Despite the Canadian teams’ strong showing in this year’s playoffs, Harder said the inter-team rivalry is confounding any sense of unified national pride in achievement.
“I think most hockey fans are not Canadian. ‘Come on, Canada!’ They will go with their equipment, which is part of the problem,” he stated. “They’re not really pro-Canada because there’s a lot of tribalism among hockey fans.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2024.
-With files from Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton.