'home away from home': edmonton oilers fans flock to trolley 5 to watch stanley cup final
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edmonton oilers fans have taken over trolley 5 brewpub in calgary as fans watched the oilers host the panthers for game 1 of the stanley cup final on wednesday, june 4, 2025.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
it’s a stanley cup finals game night and a line of people stretch outside the trolley 5 brewpub in downtown calgary.
staff hustle to find seats for their customers, but people are patient, jovial even. dressed in orange and blue jerseys — the colours of the edmonton oilers — it is shaping up to be a promising night.
this is the first game of the stanley cup final and the oilers are set to play against the florida panthers — a game the oilers eventually win. for longtime fans of the oilers, this marks an especially emotional milestone — and the best place in town to celebrate? for many, it’s trolley 5 brewpub.
“it makes you feel like you’re home,” heather johnstone said.
having grown up in edmonton, johnstone said she has always been an oilers fan and brought her friends dominique mellafont and jordan aravena into the fold recently. the three sat in a corner on the first floor of the pub on wednesday, all wearing oilers colours, snacking on wings and beers.
it was aravena’s idea to watch the game at the pub, having watched other playoff games there a month ago.
“it was just full of energy,” she said. “like nothing you’ve ever seen before in a bar. everyone’s cheering, everyone’s friends with each other. just unbelievable energy.”
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for johnstone, the idea of watching the game at a bar surrounded by other oilers fans lends a nostalgic comfort to the experience. “it gives oilers fans confidence to come out,” she said. “i don’t usually wear my jersey out there, unless i’m surrounded by other oilers.
“we’re like a family.”
edmonton oilers fans have taken over trolley 5 brewpub in calgary as fans watched the oilers host the panthers for game 1 of the stanley cup final on wednesday, june 4, 2025.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
trolley 5 has, in recent years, become an unofficial haven for oilers fans in a city renowned for its loyalty towards the calgary flames, the oilers’ longtime rival. with reservations made more than two weeks out, the pub is often packed on nights when the games are on, with goers boldly dressed in their jerseys, cheering the team on and watching televisions hanging from every corner.
walking into the pub wednesday saw serving staff wearing the jerseys and blue pom poms placed on the tables for customers on the upper floor.
pub owner ernie tsu wore his own jersey and cap. he’s a fan of both the oilers and the flames, he said. “i was born and raised in (calgary), but i love my province; it’s as simple as that.”
his pub has always been known as a sports bar, whether it be to watch hockey, soccer or golf, amongst others.
“and then some die-hard oilers fans started coming here and it just grew organically from there,” he said.
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perhaps the reason people are so drawn to the bar is because it’s a “safe place,” he said. “some locations aren’t so welcoming to the arrival team from edmonton, but it’s a safe place here. people can wear their jerseys.”
edmonton oilers fans have taken over trolley 5 brewpub in calgary as fans watched the oilers host the panthers for game 1 of the stanley cup final on wednesday, june 4, 2025.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
on hockey reddit forums, x and other social media, the pub has become a popular recommendation for those looking for a spot to watch the game — so popular, in fact, the pub gets booked up weeks before a major game day.
“every table is reserved tonight,” tsu said, with folks making reservations two weeks out. he said he expected a full house, with more than 500 people sitting in.
it’s why spencer corbett, maxwell schmidt and paul roget decided to watch the game at the pub tonight instead of at home.
“we heard it was electric to watch the game here, all over social media and from a bunch of friends,” corbett said.
corbett and roget describe themselves as longtime fans of the oilers, having grown up in edmonton. “there’s actually a lot more support (for the oilers) in (calgary) than people think,” roget said, thanks to a lot of cross-movement between the two cities.
watching the two teams play against each other is like watching brothers at play, he said. “you want to beat the hell out of each other when you’re playing and if one loses, you want the other to succeed.”
edmonton oilers fans have taken over trolley 5 brewpub in calgary as fans watched the oilers host the panthers for game 1 of the stanley cup final on wednesday, june 4, 2025.
darren makowichuk/postmedia
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aninditha s., who has been visiting the bar for over two years to watch oilers games, said there are other bars where folks can go to watch the game, but trolley 5 feels like a “home away from home.”
“at the others, it’s more of a mix,” she said. “here, it’s mostly oilers fans. so you kind of get to celebrate together in a way.”
the community and camaraderie at the pub is heartfelt, with chatter among the tables, not just within groups but between everyone with one big interest in common. for some, it may even mean making new friends.
michael shewfelt and douglas rae had come to the pub separately to watch the game, but ended up seated together, chatting with beers in hand before the game began.
“we just happen to have these things in common and so right away, we’ve got something we both love,” rae said.
at 5:40 p.m., people were still pouring into the pub, with many groups sitting at tables eating dinner before the game began.
“it’s well known that the energy is going to be electric,” tsu said. “it’s just an atmosphere of people supporting their team and the cheering is loud and it’s a lot of fun.”
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