Oil Rush

Oiler fanatic Dan Hunt poses with his vast assortment of Oiler memorabilia. Photo by Jamie O'Connell.

It’s been 16 years since the Edmonton Oilers last made it to the dance floor of the Stanley Cup final, as they will face the favourites from Carolina in a showdown between the Rednecks and Roughnecks that will officially start on Monday night.

Yes, a lot of “Oiler faithful” have been coming out of the woodwork to jump on the Edmonton bandwagon this spring, but not Dan Hunt. This Oiler fanatic, who you may know and love as the morning co-host on EZ-Rock in North Bay, has been an Oiler fan since he was five years old.

“I remember listening to the radio (CFRN Edmonton) and hearing the Oilers win their first cup against the New York Islanders,” said Hunt, who was born and raised in Edmonton before moving away to Calgary with his family in 1987 when he was 12 years old.

As an Oiler fan living in Calgary, Hunt knows all about the rivalry between the two cities and their hockey clubs. He admits it was tough being an Oiler fan in Calgary especially during a time when the Oilers and Flames were both at the top of the hockey world; with Calgary winning the cup in 1988, and the Oilers taking home the prize in 1987, 1988 and 1990.

”It was hell,” he said.

“It was fun to go to games and antagonize (at the Saddledome) and I'd always wear my Oilers jersey.”

But that rivalry didn’t stop Hunt from cheering on the Calgary Flames during their Cinderella Cup run in 2004.

”It was cool but I did it grudgingly,” said Hunt who was working in Canmore, Alberta at the time just before moving to North Bay later that summer with his wife Jamie and daughter Kate.

However, Hunt would have never thought his eighth seed Western Conference team could follow the same path as the Flames.

”It’s been a long time coming and when they got slotted against Detroit I said I hope they make it close but they knocked them off so I thought anything is possible,” said the optimistic Oiler fan who watched his team demolish Detroit, San Jose and finally Anaheim to become Western Conference champions.

So does Hunt think the Oilers are a team of destiny in 2006?

“I thought Flames would do it last time, until Cup is won there's no way to tell.”

A North Bayite living in an Oil Rush

Damian Dorschner is getting a different view of hockey crazy Alberta. The North Bay native lives in Lethbridge, Alberta, which is located about 220 kilometers south of the city of Calgary.

Dorschner says the Oiler hype has pretty much spilled over into every part of Alberta, including Lethbridge which is in the heart of Flames country.

“Here in Lethbridge which is in Southern Alberta, many vehicles are adorned with Oilers' car flags that didn't have any only weeks ago,” said Dorschner, who graduated from the University of Lethbridge and is a part-time anthem singer for the Western Hockey League’s Lethbridge Hurricanes.

“I was at Average Joe's Sports Bar (voted best sports bar in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet) when the Oilers eliminated the Sharks, and the atmosphere was electric. It was like we had our own ‘Blue Mile’ right there in the pub. I myself am not a true blue Oilers fan but I have certainly been swept up in the hysteria,” added Dorschner, an avid Chicago Blackhawk fan.

“I was surprised during the Flames run to see how crazy things got here in Lethbridge, and in Calgary. So now that the Oilers are doing well, I'm not surprised that there is the same fever now if not more. Alberta is a very proud province, and even though the Oilers/Flames rivalry is a fierce one, I believe Edmonton will be ‘Alberta's Team’ if they aren't already.”

The Oilers have likely become not only Alberta’s team but Canada’s team, as many Senators, Canadiens, and Leafs fans in Ontario will be routing for “The Oil” to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada in 2006; a place it hasn’t been since 1993.