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Playing against the Edmonton Oilers means a little extra for one Vancouver Canucks defenceman.
The Alberta-born Carson Soucy explained today that he’s got an extra chip on his shoulder facing off against his childhood team.
“It’s a little extra motivation, I guess,” chuckled the 29-year-old defenceman this morning when asked his feelings on the subject.
Soucy was born in Viking, Alberta and grew up in Irma, Alberta, both towns firmly in Oilers country near the centre of the province.
The 6-foot-5 defenceman has been causing a divide back in his hometown: people are forced to choose between supporting the local team or the local hero.
“It was jersey day at the school I grew up in. They’ve got an Oilers flag hanging outside but they’ve also got a Canucks,” continued Soucy.
“They did a big pick ’em and everything. They had a big Oilers section, Vancouver section. Little more Oilers jerseys than I would’ve liked to see but I understand that’s hard for lifetime Oilers fans to give up, to root for Canucks this postseason.”
“I’ll be taking notes on who is wearing Vancouver jerseys. Obviously, I’ve got a lot of relatives back home repping the Canucks jerseys yesterday so it was good to see.”
The Canucks and Oilers have two of the most passionate fanbases in the league. The trash talk on both sides has been extreme on social media as people stand up for their club.
Any playoff series pitting two Canadian teams against each other is always going to be fun. It’s only been one game but this one already has the makings of an all-time classic.
For those fans back in Alberta who picked supporting the Oilers over Soucy, just know that you’re fuelling the opponent.
“A little extra motivation but I understand the Oilers mean a lot to that part of Alberta so I can definitely see why there’s still lots of Edmonton jerseys,” commented Soucy with a smile.
Game 2 of the second-round series starts tomorrow at 7 pm PT at Rogers Arena.