A huge victory for the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night has turned into a big win for a few local homeless organizations.
During Sunday’s 7-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks, Leon Draisaitl scored a hat trick, sending hundreds of hats flying onto the ice.
READ MORE: Edmonton Oilers force Game 7 after devastating the Ducks in 7-1 win
As the hats were being collected by the Oilers’ ice crew, Edmonton’s Bissell Centre put a call out on Twitter, asking the Oilers what would be done with the hats.
The organization said its homeless neighbours would make great use of the hats, and asked Edmontonians to get onboard to make it happen. The Tweet ended up going viral, being shared more than 800 times.
Well, ask and you shall receive. On Monday morning, Bissell Centre received word that some of the hats were on the way.
“It’s quite amazing how our supporters and Edmontonians alike helped to push these hats to the inner city for people who need them the most,” said Darren Brennan with Bissell Centre.
“It’s more than just a hat. It’s about providing protection from the sun… Summer is right around the corner. We can definitely use them to hand out to our participants.”
The Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation bagged up 1,000 hats and delivered them to three local homeless organization on Monday: Bissell Centre, Hope Mission and Operation Friendship.
Phil Belliveau received an Oilers hat and said it was the highlight of his day.
“I am an Oilers fan and I love my Oilers. Putting an Oilers hat on today just makes me feel good about myself and about the city,” he said.
“It’s my way of saying I sponsor my team, I love my team and I support my team.”
The EOCF said any time there’s a hat trick in the building, the ice crew collects the hats and puts them into giant recycling bags. From there, the Oilers Entertainment Group and EOCF decides how many will go to charity and how many will be kept for historical purposes.
“We really work hard to ensure that we spread the wealth out and ensure that all of our neighbours are taken care of,” said Natalie Minckler, executive director of the EOCF.
“People were delighted to see us. They knew that these were part of Leon’s hat trick last night and they were really, really excited – looking forward to receiving one of those hats. They couldn’t wait for the game on Wednesday and they’re going to be donning their new Oiler gear and supporting the team.”
Listen below: Tim Shipton with the Oilers Entertainment Group speaks to 630 CHED’s Ryan Jespersen about hat trick hats
The Oilers’ 7-1 trouncing of the Ducks set off a social media explosion on Sunday night. Trending topics included #hattrick, #duckhunt and #draisaitl.
Sunday’s win forces the series to Game 7, which will go down in Anaheim on Wednesday night. The start time of the game has yet to be determined, and will likely be released following Monday night’s game between the Washington Capital and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Watch below: Edmonton Oilers fans, players, head coach talk to the media after 7-1 win against the Ducks. Also hear from Anaheim’s head coach Randy Carlyle