After a hiatus last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Edmonton Oil Kings‘ Teddy Bear Toss is back.
The 14th annual Teddy Bear Toss — in support of 630 CHED Santas Anonymous — will be held this Saturday at Rogers Place, when the Oil Kings face off against the Moose Jaw Warriors.
The Teddy Bear Toss is a hugely popular game, which sees fans bring stuffed animals to the arena. When the Oil Kings score their first goal, fans throw their bears onto the ice.
On Tuesday morning, the team unveiled the specialty jerseys that will be worn during Saturday night’s game. While keeping with the teddy bear theme, this year, the jerseys will be dedicated to the frontline workers who have been working tirelessly to help get the public through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s spectacular. It’s a nice recognition. We’ve all worked hard through this but it’s nice to be recognized,” said Teresa Berdusco, a registered nurse at the Royal Alexandra Hospital emergency department who was part of the unveiling ceremony Tuesday.
“It’s been long. It’s been a tough go for some people. We’ve been doing this day in and day out for the past 20 months with really no end in sight, kind of. It just keeps coming in waves and hopefully, it’s going to end soon.”
Berdusco has been at Teddy Bear Toss games in the past and said it’s an amazing experience.
“Having those bears fly down after a goal is a pretty neat experience, so it’ll be nice to be a part of it.”
This year’s uniforms include a stethoscope around the players’ necks, as a way to honour to medical community.
Oil Kings captain Jake Neighbours said the Teddy Bear Toss is one of the biggest games of the year, with more fans and more excitement in the arena. There’s always a bigger push to get that first goal, he added.
“I think this is probably the best one,” Neighbours said of the jerseys.
“I think it’s pretty cool that we have a nod to the health-care workers and everyone that’s done so much over the pandemic. I think that’s pretty important to represent them out there.”
Teammate Carter Souch, playing in his fifth Teddy Bear Toss, agreed.
“It’s obviously a super special game,” he said. “With the big nod to the nurses and first responders, who have helped us so much in the last two years, it’s a good tribute to them.”
The 2019 Teddy Bear Toss was sold out and saw the team collect a record 16,491 bears. In 2018, 14,981 stuffed animals were collected for Santas Anonymous.
With anywhere from one in five to one in six families living in poverty in Edmonton, Santas Anonymous executive director Angel Benedict said the stuffed animals go a long way for the charity.
“This is huge. All of our families, they receive a gift package with two toys, a teddy bear and a book,” she said.
“When we’re gifting up to 20,000 children each year, this event is huge because we don’t have to worry about the bears because of it.”
Over the past 15 years, Santas Anonymous has also raised about $150,000 through its partnership with the Oil Kings. These funds are used to buy toys and books to help fulfil their yearly goal.
Anyone who brings five or more bears to the game on Saturday can enter to win an Oil Kings premier prize, according to the team.
While the WHL played a 24-game regular season last year, the Teddy Bear Toss did not go ahead in 2020. The league wrapped up its season after the 24 regular-season games, without conducting playoffs or the WHL Championship Series.
Ahead of Saturday’s Teddy Bear Toss, the Oil Kings (16-4-2) play at home Friday night against the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Oil Kings wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule on Saturday, Dec. 18.
The team will then vacate Rogers Place to make way for the 2022 World Junior Championships and return to home ice on Jan. 11.
Tickets for the Teddy Bear Toss are still available. The game starts at 7 p.m. Saturday. All fans entering Rogers Place will have to follow strict COVID-19 protocols.