The Oil Country Zamboni costume that was custom-made for one of the Edmonton Oilers’ biggest fans is going viral.
It even caught the attention of Oilers player Evander Kane who personally commented on the Facebook post, saying “That’s awesome, absolutely love this.”
“When I started, I thought it would be cool if we got maybe an Instagram from the Oilers or something like that — and then it just blew up,” said DJ Oetting.
Oetting is the father of 5-year-old Easton Oetting who is the driver behind the Zamboni wheel. Easton was born with a rare genetic disorder called 8-P-23 Point 1 Duplication Syndrome, which affects his speech, causes tightness in his joints and low muscle tone.
“Walking for him is very hard,” said DJ. “He can’t straighten his legs out. A lot of the time he walks on his knees. When he does walk, he needs a walker.”
Despite his rare disorder, Easton lives a full and happy life in Sarnia, Ont. where he and his dad are die-hard Oilers fans. Easton needed a Halloween costume that would allow him to get around easily and DJ said he got the idea for the Zamboni from the duo’s game day tradition during last season’s playoff run – a photo together sporting Oilers orange and blue.
“I wanted to figure out how I could incorporate the Oilers into his costume and the only thing I could think of was to turn his stroller into a Zamboni.”
It took him five days to finish the Zamboni, but this wasn’t Easton’s first elaborate Halloween costume – he’s also been the grandpa from Up, a hot dog stand and last year DJ incorporated Easton’s stroller wheelchair for the first and went as a skid steer operator.
“That one took quite a lot longer than the Zamboni one – it was a lot more extensive,” DJ said. “We’ve been trying to top this year but I don’t know how we’re going to top this for next year.”
On Monday night when Halloween hits, this Zamboni will be cleaning up the candy instead of the ice.
“We’ve got a couple of Leafs fans on the block so we’ll be hitting their houses first,” DJ laughed.
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