Edmonton Oilers fans got a chance to meet their favourite players at West Edmonton Mall on Wednesday for the annual autograph session.
So it raises the question: how long would you wait for an autograph from an Edmonton Oiler?
Some die-hard fans started lining up bright and early to make sure they wouldn’t be leaving empty-handed, with the autograph session starting at 6 p.m.
“I got here at 5:30 a.m. and they let us in at 6 a.m., been waiting ever since,” said Shawn Souter.
At Leon Draisaitl’s and Connor McDavid’s stations, the first 300 fans are guaranteed signatures. Souter was the first in line at Draisaitl’s station.
“I tried to get my son to come with me, but he’d rather go to school than wake up at 4:30 in the morning,” Souter said.
Draisaitl’s station had the most people waiting as the forward can sign any item a fan requests. McDavid can only sign Upper Deck photos.
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The Oilers captain’s station had hundreds of people waiting. That includes the Thomas family, who originally got to the mall at midnight.
“We got here, we didn’t know what we were going to expect to happen. We got kicked out by security, then we just regrouped and came back at 6,” said Joseph Thomas.
Thomas was at the mall with his dad and two brothers. They will be four of the 300 people guaranteed to get signature.
“This morning specifically it was incredibly competitive. There were people sprinting here and we got here just in the nick of time,” said Thomas.
There are 11 stations throughout the mall featuring 21 Oilers players.
Those players include:
- Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard
- Evan Bouchard and Troy Stecher
- Corey Perry and Mattias Janmark
- Viktor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm
- Connor McDavid
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Derek Ryan
- Zach Hyman and Brett Kulak
- Darnell Nurse, Vasily Podkolzin and Ty Emberson
- Jeff Skinner and Travis Dermott
- Adam Henrique and Connor Brown
- Leon Draisaitl
With these fans waiting more than 12 hours for signatures, we asked them how they pass the time.
“We’re just playing cards and board games, reading books, chatting amongst the other folks in the crowd, just keeping busy,” said Thomas.
For Souter, he says he’s doing what he would do at home.
“Watching movies, playing games, nothing too exciting, just at the mall,” Souter said.
However, the fans say the wait is worth it. They are grateful for this once-a-year opportunity to meet their heroes.
“I’ve been a huge hockey fan since I’ve been a kid and he’s like my idol,” said Grade 3 student Elliot Sloat.
For Tessa Bull, she brought her three kids with her to the mall. They lined up for McDavid at 7 a.m.
“I started doing this with my son back in 2019. I thought I could make it a yearly tradition for me and especially my kids because I didn’t have this growing up,” Bull said.
The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. across West Edmonton Mall. More information can be found on the mall’s website.
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