How Edmonton Oilers fans are celebrating the team's success near and far

Fakiha Baig · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 10, 2025 1:38 PM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

When an orangish question of Oilers fans successful Edmonton caput toward the downtown halfway connected crippled nights during the NHL playoffs, an water distant successful Akureyri, Iceland, Pavel Viking Landa says helium makes his ain mode to his antheral cave successful the dormant of night.

The utmost Oilers instrumentality says helium can't halt himself from turning connected his TV successful the room, wherever hockey jerseys bent connected the wall, and watching the games, adjacent if it goes until 4 a.m. his time.

"My household don't similar it, I ticker heavy successful the nighttime due to the fact that I'm waking them up by screaming, 'let's go,"' said the 42-year-old successful an interrogation from the Nordic island.

"My spouse thinks I'm stupid. I'm conscionable a normal, blessed guy."

Landa was successful Edmonton past week to ticker the Oilers instrumentality connected the Florida Panthers successful Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup final.

"I thought for a small portion I'm going to suffer my proceeding due to the fact that of fans cheering," helium said.

"It was unbelievable."

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But helium has since returned to his location to ticker the remainder of the bid successful Iceland, with the adjacent crippled scheduled for Wednesday successful Sunrise, Fla.

He said helium has been making the two-day travel from Iceland to Edmonton each twelvemonth to ticker the Oilers play since 2015.

Landa, who works successful construction, said that's the twelvemonth helium fell successful emotion with the team.

"I met a Canadian feline from Edmonton successful a barroom here. We started chatting. Life is funny," said Landa.

"He said, 'you should come' ... and wrong 2 months I was successful Edmonton archetypal clip for hockey."

He said helium went straight from the airdrome to the erstwhile Edmonton Oilers arena known arsenic Rexall Place to ticker the Oilers, including his favourite subordinate astatine the time, Ales Hemsky, instrumentality connected the Vancouver Canucks.

"It's a truly bully representation and, I deliberation the Oilers won 5-4 then," helium said.

However, Landa said it's not the triumph that has kept him coming backmost to Edmonton each year.

It's the fans.

"It truly amazed maine however [fans] get really, truly loud. I got goosebumps," helium said astir the 2015 game.

"The wide atmosphere, the wide feeling connected the streets, everybody's happy. Everybody's high-fiving."

He said Oilers fans are dissimilar others.

"I went to a mates of games extracurricular of Canada. I don't deliberation they spell to the hockey games for hockey. They deliberation it's like, "ah, I person a date. I spell to cinema, oregon hockey,'" Landa said.

"In Edmonton, you tin spot that the radical are funny successful the game."

He said the lone twelvemonth helium didn't sojourn Edmonton was past year.

That's due to the fact that it was easier to spell to Florida and ticker Game 7 of the NHL last that saw the Oilers autumn 1 crippled abbreviated of a comeback for the ages.

After winning 3 games successful a enactment to necktie the last series, the Oilers dropped the deciding Game 7 to the Panthers by a people of 2-1.

"I'm not ashamed of it. I shed tears," Landa said.

"I was truly sad, but not angry. I was bittersweet due to the fact that it was acceptable up to beryllium a truly bully story."

Landa isn't the lone 1 who goes connected agelong journeys to ticker the Oilers.

Kevin Follett, a 49-year-old dense instrumentality relation from Fort McMurray, Alta., said that since past year, helium has been driving 430 kilometres southbound to drawback each playoff crippled successful Edmonton.

"I emotion hockey successful wide and present that we've got the 2 champion superstars successful the world, however tin you not travel down present and miss this?" helium said, referring to Oilers skipper Connor McDavid and guardant Leon Draisaitl.

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"You've got to beryllium portion of it. This is history."

But earlier helium gets to the game, helium spends 2 hours getting ready.

His woman paints him successful bluish and orange, and puts a wig connected him arsenic helium pre-drinks.

"My [daughters] like it erstwhile I get dressed up," helium said.

"I get excessively excited. I'm not shy."

He besides carries a five-gallon pail resembling the Stanley Cup astatine the games.

He said helium made 20 of them by stacking a vessel connected apical of a trash tin and sold them to brainsick fans astatine Edmonton's Moss Pit successful the city's Ice District.

Among the radical seen regularly starring cheers astatine the Pit with Follett is William Blaise.

The 19-year-old besides paints himself successful orangish and bluish earlier each game.

He besides wears a hard chapeau and overalls.

"We overgarment up each azygous crippled to look similar lipid rig workers. Alberta is known for oil," Blaise said.

"I emotion the Oilers due to the fact that this is lipid country. We enactment hard and we play hard."