Edmonton Oilers centre Connor McDavid during the NHL Players Association Rookie Showcase in Toronto earlier this month.Darren Calabrese/The Associated Press
Hockey and history seeps through the bricks of the Clare Drake Arena. Team pictures dating to 1909 are displayed in the lobby of the home rink at the University of Alberta, and 56 championship banners hang from the ceiling and line the walls.
Well-worn and cozy, for a quarter of a century the old barn has played host to preseason exhibitions between the Edmonton Oilers' rookies and the Golden Bears.
For the first time, this year, the annual preseason fundraising contest was moved from the 2,700-seat venue inside the big, yellow Butterdome on campus because it was too small to accommodate sudden interest.
Connor McDavid was the cause for that, and a near sell-out was expected for Wednesday night's skirmish at 17,000-seat Rexall Place. After sitting out two of three games at the Young Stars Classic in Penticton, B.C., the first pick in the NHL draft was scheduled to line up at centre against the two-time defending champion Golden Bears.
"It's a good thing Connor is playing," Peter Chiarelli, the Edmonton general manager, said in British Columbia over the weekend. "Otherwise, there would be a riot. "The suggestion to move the game from the campus arena, named after Canada's most successful college hockey coach, was made early in 2015 by Stan Marple, the general manager of the Golden Bears. Each of the past two exhibitions between the teams at Clare Drake attracted standing-room audiences.
"I figured there are a lot of faithful Oilers fans that would like to see the prospects play and had been unable because of the limited capacity at our place," Marple said. "And I didn't think it would hurt to expose more people to our program."
The Oilers announced in August that the game was being moved to Rexall Place. The preceding month 3,000 fans turned out to watch McDavid practise one day during rookie orientation camp, and 7,000 attended his first rookie scrimmage.
"If they were on the fence about moving the game, it suddenly really made sense," Marple said.
As part of the deal, the Golden Bears agreed to accept proceeds from the game equal to what they would have received had it been played on home ice. The team splits gate receipts with the Oilers Community Foundation, and uses the funds to help pay for scholarships and the salaries of its staff. Only a limited number of tickets at $30 were available on Wednesday.
"The game against the Golden Bears has been a popular ticket over the years," Tim Shipton, vice-president of communications for the Oilers Entertainment Group, said. "It is a game we circle on the calendar for our young guys. It provides them with a pretty good measuring stick."
As soon as the doors were opened an hour before the game, spectators dressed in Oilers' garb began to pour in. After driving two hours to Edmonton from rural Drayton Valley, Bill Swartz and Travis Hill, were eager to settle into their seats.
"I want to see McDavid," Swartz said. "Everyone that's here tonight is here to see one guy."
Fans swarmed the Oilers Store in search of McDavid sweaters and T-shirts, some lined up to scribble their names in front of memorabilia being sold as part of an auction. The minimum bid accepted for a framed and signed No. 97 Oilers jersey was $775. Beside it, a Team Canada jersey autographed by Taylor Hall, one of Edmonton's stars, was being peddled. The minimum bid: $275.
Holding hands with his two young children, Dan Strawnychy headed into Rexall Place.
"It was a cheap game to bring the kids to," he said.
"I think we all know who we're here to see."
On Tuesday, Serge Lajoie, the Golden Bears' first-year-coach, put his team through preparations for the game.
"I am sure there is going to be an electric atmosphere," Lajoie said. "It is a great opportunity for us to brand our product."
The Golden Bears have won 13 of 24 previous meetings, but this is a deep Oilers' rookie squad and, in McDavid, features the most talked-about player to enter the NHL in at least 10 years.
Edmonton won two of three games at the Young Stars Challenge, and lost only the last, when McDavid and three other top prospects sat out.
Chiarelli said the 18-year-old dressed for only one game because "we expect him to play a lot of hockey for us this season."
In his one game on Friday night, McDavid won the opening faceoff, stole the puck from opponents twice, fired one well-directed pass and barely missed a shot – all in the first 35 seconds. He finished with a goal and an assist in an 8-2 victory over the Canucks.
"Everybody in Canada knows Connor McDavid," said Kruise Reddick, a 25-year-old centre for the Golden Bears who played five seasons with the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. "We have to be ready for the challenge."
Thomas Carr, a fellow 25-year-old defenceman, was looking forward to confronting the prodigy on the ice.
"I was hearing about him when I was playing in juniors, and I think he was only 12 or 13 back then," said Carr, who played three seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers. "The fact that the hype hasn't died down shows how exceptional he is.
"It will be a good test for our team, and as an Oilers fan, I am excited, too."
Marty Klinkenberg