Even if you decided you want to make your home underneath a rock somewhere in Edmonton, you would not be able to shut out the Oilers.
For those who have just moved to Edmonton, no matter if they are coming here from the Middle East or from Midland, Ont., there’s no ignoring the massive relationship between this city’s NHL team and our collective psyche.
“When I first came to Edmonton eight years ago, I quickly realized that the Oilers were the great equalizer in our city,” says Dan Cote-Rosen, the Oilers Entertainment Group’s vice-president of marketing.
Basically, no matter the political leanings or backgrounds of Edmontonians, the Oilers are a unifying force.
But with that power, to quote Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben, comes great responsibility.
“We can spotlight the communities that are such an important part of our fanbase,” Cote-Rosen says. “What we can offer these communities is our platform, but we feel the power of our platform is significant.”
The Oilers have hosted theme nights that have celebrated Pride and Indigenous history. On Jan. 6, they hosted a night that saluted Ukrainian heritage.
And, on Feb. 13, the team will celebrate Lunar New Year. On Feb. 21, the Oilers will celebrate Black History Month when they face the Bruins, the team that signed the first Black player to ever skate in an NHL game, Willie O’Ree. And, on March 21, the team will host a South Asian celebration.
For each of these games, the Oilers have asked local artists representing these communities to create special Oilers logos. Pete Nguyen’s dragon ushers in Lunar New Year. AJA Louden’s Black History Month crest reimagines the Oilers logo in African weaving tradition. Sunny Nerval’s bright peacock is a majestic symbol that celebrates South Asian culture. A portion of the proceeds from each night’s theme jersey will go to charitable causes that are selected by the artists.
“We wanted to enter into this project with as much humility as we can,” says Cote-Rosen. “We want to be as steady as we can when it comes to understanding the unique challenges of each community. We are learning as we go.”
He says the Oilers learned a lot from their work with Lance Cardinal, who designed the Turtle Island logo that was used for Indigenous theme nights. And he hopes this work with different community groups not only welcomes new fans to the arena, but inspires them to play the game, as well — whether it be on the ice or some good, old-fashioned ball hockey.
Nguyen (disclaimer: he’s a former art director of this magazine) says that he was given a lot of control when it came to designing the dragon logo — even if it meant getting rid of the famed Oilers lettering on the crest.
“This wasn’t a case of someone telling me they wanted to do something a certain way,” Nguyen says. “They really leaned on me. The symbolism was on me to build.”
It was the Oilers who reached out to Nguyen. And the artist says that the timing could not have been better. After all, the dragon is the coolest of all the Lunar New Year animals — mythical or real.
“They came to me a year ago with this idea, and I’m so glad that it’s the Year of the Dragon. A rabbit is not an exciting animal to draw.”
The traditional Lunar New Year colours of red and yellow were replaced by blue and orange. After all, red and yellow are Calgary Flames colours.
I am working on a book on race, diversity and hockey — and I’ve spoken to Kim Davis, the NHL’s vice president of social impact, growth initiatives and legislative affairs. She says that her experience working with major Wall Street firms is informing her diversity work with the NHL. The team’s owners need to see the business benefits of diversity — that widening the audience will mean more eyeballs on games, and more jerseys sold.
“It is all about recognizing and seeing audiences and seeing different people, and them feeling and trusting us, because we’ve earned it,” says Davis. “This sport is for them, and then they will make it their sport and become our fans. Our business grows. It’s a full circle. There’s a lot of points in that circle.”
As part of the fallout over Pride Nights the previous season, with a small but vocal minority of players not wanting to participate in the event, the NHL now prohibits teams from wearing themed jerseys during warm up. But, despite the ban, Cote-Rosen said the team is still “one thousand per cent behind” these outreach efforts, and will look at other avenues on how to promote these jerseys. They may be banned on the ice, but there’s nothing that prevents a player from walking into the arena with one of these jerseys on…
