Hockey fans fired up amid strong Canadian showing in NHL playoffs

Not since 2017 have so many Canadian teams made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs. And not since 1993 has Canada claimed a Stanley Cup championship.

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.