When an orange wave of Oilers fans in Edmonton head toward the downtown core on game nights in the course of the NHL playoffs, an ocean away in Akureyri, Iceland, Pavel Viking Landa says he makes his own approach to his man cave in the dark.
The intense Oilers fan says he can’t stop himself from turning on his TV within the room, where hockey jerseys hang on the wall, and watching the games, even when it goes until 4 a.m. his time.
“My family don’t prefer it, I watch deep within the night because I’m waking them up by screaming, ‘Let’s go,’” said the 42-year-old in an interview from the Nordic island.
“My partner thinks I’m silly. I’m just a standard, joyful guy.”
Landa was in Edmonton last week to observe the Oilers tackle the Florida Panthers in Games 1 and a pair of of the Stanley Cup final.
“I assumed for slightly while I’m going to lose my hearing due to fans cheering,” he said.
“It was unbelievable.”
But he has since returned to his home to observe the rest of the series in Iceland, with the following game scheduled for Wednesday in Sunrise, Fla.
Landa said he has been making the two-day journey from Iceland to Edmonton yearly to observe the Oilers play since 2015.
Landa, who works in construction, said that’s the yr he fell in love with the team.
“I met a Canadian guy from Edmonton in a bar here. We began chatting. Life is funny,” said Landa.
“He said, ‘You need to come’ … and inside two months I used to be in Edmonton first time for hockey.”
He said he went directly from the airport to the previous Edmonton Oilers arena referred to as Rexall Place to observe the Oilers, including his favourite player on the time, Ales Hemsky, tackle the Vancouver Canucks
“It’s a very nice memory and, I feel the Oilers won 5-4 then,” he said.
Nevertheless, Landa said it’s not the win that has kept him coming back to Edmonton yearly.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and world wide, join for breaking news alerts delivered on to you once they occur.
It’s the fans.
“It really surprised me how (fans) get really, really loud. I got goosebumps,” he said in regards to the 2015 game.
“The final atmosphere, the final feeling on the streets, everybody’s joyful. Everybody’s high-fiving.”
He said Oilers fans are unlike others.
“I went to a few of games outside of Canada. I don’t think they go to the hockey games for hockey. They think it’s like, “Ah, I actually have a date. I am going to cinema, or hockey,’” Landa said.
“In Edmonton, you may see that the individuals are concerned about the sport.”
He said the one yr he didn’t visit Edmonton was last yr.
And that’s since it was easier to go to Florida and watch Game 7 of the NHL final that saw the Oilers fall one game in need of a comeback for the ages.
After winning three games in a row to tie the ultimate series, the Oilers dropped the deciding Game 7 to the Panthers by a rating of 2-1.
“I’m not ashamed of it. I shed tears,” Landa said.
“I used to be really sad, but not offended. I used to be sad since it was set as much as be a very good story.”
Fans show their support for the Edmonton Oilers before they tackle the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final in Sunrise, Fla., on Monday, June 9, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
He said he believes the Canadian team will win the Cup in Game 5.
Landa isn’t the just one who goes on long journeys to observe the Oilers.
Kevin Follett, a 49-year-old heavy equipment operator from Fort McMurray, Alta., says since last yr, he has been driving 430 kilometres south to catch every playoff game in Edmonton.
Kevin Follett, of Fort McMurray, poses within the ‘Moss Pit’ outside of Rogers Place ahead of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers in Edmonton on Friday, June 6, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fakiha Baig
“I like hockey typically and now that we’ve got the 2 best superstars on the planet, how will you not come down here and miss this?” he said, referring to Oilers captain Connor McDavid and forward Leon Draisaitl.
“You’ve got to be a part of it. That is history.”
But before he gets to the sport, he spends two hours preparing.
His wife paints him in blue and orange, and puts a wig on him as he pre-drinks.
“My (daughters) prefer it once I dress up,” he said.
“I get too excited. I’m not shy.”
He also carries a five-gallon pail resembling the Stanley Cup on the games.
He said he made 20 of them by stacking a bowl on top of a trash can and sold them to crazy fans at Edmonton’s Moss Pit in the town’s Ice District.
Among the many people seen commonly leading cheers on the Pit with Follett is William Blaise.
The 19-year-old also paints himself in orange and blue before every game.
He also wears a tough hat and overalls.
“We paint up each game to appear to be oil rig staff. Alberta is thought for oil,” Blaise said.
“I like the Oilers because that is oil country. We work hard and we play hard.”
© 2025 The Canadian Press
