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gvitaly · 07-21-2025, 01:53 PM

The Battle of Alberta

The Battle of Alberta.
Yeah
That’s Calgary vs. Edmonton, right? What is that like from the perspective of a Calgary player or someone who lives in Calgary?
Well, it’s probably the most intense rivalry in the NHL. The hottest, most heated one—especially, maybe not as hot right now, but when Tkachuk was playing for Calgary and Kesler[Kassian] was playing for Edmonton… You know what Tkachuk is like—it was fire back then. Pure fire. Now maybe it’s cooled a bit, because Edmonton is probably the stronger team at the moment. But I think in a year or two, it’ll be fiery again. Really fiery.
And how do you feel it? Like, are you prepped for it in a special way? Like, you can read online that it’s a big rivalry, a derby, but that doesn’t necessarily make you feel it. Why is it such a big deal? How do you experience it?
It’s mostly the fans.
The fans really set it on fire.
Absolutely the fans. The atmosphere at that game is different. It’s the most intense game, I think. First of all, it’s always a sellout. That’s guaranteed.
So your fans just go after Edmonton’s players?
Yeah, and vice versa. There’s yelling, insults—everything. My first Battle of Alberta was outdoors, yeah. Even then, I could hear the shouting.
And the crowd was far away, right?
Yeah, you’ve probably seen how far the stands are at those outdoor games. But the roar is so loud, I swear you could hear it from a plane flying overhead. And the trash talk? It's brutal.
Even in the preseason?
Even in the preseason! We play two preseason games against them. Two years ago, I played one at home and one on the road.
So you got to compare?
Yeah, and there’s a lot of dirt even in preseason.
Which fanbase do you think is more savage—yours or theirs?
Honestly, both. Both sets of fans. There were nasty signs all over. I don’t remember exactly what they said, but there were tons of posters and stuff like “fire ignites oil” because the Oilers are, well, oil, and the Flames are fire, right? All kinds of vulgar messages as well.
And they target players personally?
Yeah, especially in the regular[non-outdoor] games where the glass is close. They bang on the glass, they scream… Especially when you’re in the penalty box—you don’t want to sit there.
Feels like a cold shower?
Yeah. During preseason, I got a penalty in Edmonton and had to sit there. I just stared at the boards because I could see in my peripheral vision—pure chaos. Obscene gestures, yelling
They’re right above you?
Yeah, really pressing you. Like they’re about to climb in. That’s what it feels like. But honestly, I think it’s great.
It’s like real hatred.
Yeah. But not hatred toward you personally—just because you play for Calgary.
And that only happens in this matchup? like against Montreal—it’s way calmer.
Yeah. In Montreal, they might mess with you a bit, sure, call you names maybe, but that happens every game.

07-21-2025, 01:53 PM	#35
gvitaly Franchise Player Join Date: Jul 2010 Exp:	The Battle of Alberta The Battle of Alberta. Yeah That’s Calgary vs. Edmonton, right? What is that like from the perspective of a Calgary player or someone who lives in Calgary? Well, it’s probably the most intense rivalry in the NHL. The hottest, most heated one—especially, maybe not as hot right now, but when Tkachuk was playing for Calgary and Kesler[Kassian] was playing for Edmonton… You know what Tkachuk is like—it was fire back then. Pure fire. Now maybe it’s cooled a bit, because Edmonton is probably the stronger team at the moment. But I think in a year or two, it’ll be fiery again. Really fiery. And how do you feel it? Like, are you prepped for it in a special way? Like, you can read online that it’s a big rivalry, a derby, but that doesn’t necessarily make you feel it. Why is it such a big deal? How do you experience it? It’s mostly the fans. The fans really set it on fire. Absolutely the fans. The atmosphere at that game is different. It’s the most intense game, I think. First of all, it’s always a sellout. That’s guaranteed. So your fans just go after Edmonton’s players? Yeah, and vice versa. There’s yelling, insults—everything. My first Battle of Alberta was outdoors, yeah. Even then, I could hear the shouting. And the crowd was far away, right? Yeah, you’ve probably seen how far the stands are at those outdoor games. But the roar is so loud, I swear you could hear it from a plane flying overhead. And the trash talk? It's brutal. Even in the preseason? Even in the preseason! We play two preseason games against them. Two years ago, I played one at home and one on the road. So you got to compare? Yeah, and there’s a lot of dirt even in preseason. Which fanbase do you think is more savage—yours or theirs? Honestly, both. Both sets of fans. There were nasty signs all over. I don’t remember exactly what they said, but there were tons of posters and stuff like “fire ignites oil” because the Oilers are, well, oil, and the Flames are fire, right? All kinds of vulgar messages as well. And they target players personally? Yeah, especially in the regular[non-outdoor] games where the glass is close. They bang on the glass, they scream… Especially when you’re in the penalty box—you don’t want to sit there. Feels like a cold shower? Yeah. During preseason, I got a penalty in Edmonton and had to sit there. I just stared at the boards because I could see in my peripheral vision—pure chaos. Obscene gestures, yelling They’re right above you? Yeah, really pressing you. Like they’re about to climb in. That’s what it feels like. But honestly, I think it’s great. It’s like real hatred. Yeah. But not hatred toward you personally—just because you play for Calgary. And that only happens in this matchup? like against Montreal—it’s way calmer. Yeah. In Montreal, they might mess with you a bit, sure, call you names maybe, but that happens every game.