Gather all the Jews in the city of Edmonton, and you could fill approximately 30 percent of the city’s downtown Rogers Arena, where the Edmonton Oilers play. And as of July 28, 2021, Jews will fill at least 4 percent of the Oilers themselves.
This week it was made official that former Toronto Maple Leaf Zach Hyman signed a seven-year contract with the Alberta-based club, worth more than $5.5 million per year, officially ending his tenure as a hometown Jewish hero for the Maple Leafs.
Hyman, known for his elite skating speed, penalty killing and extra gear of effort, bolsters an Oilers team that’s struggled to make a difference in the playoffs, despite featuring inarguably the NHL’s best player, Conor McDavid. Hyman is expected to play on the same line with McDavid, in a similarly disruptive role he played as support for Auston Matthews in Toronto.
His departure is sad news for Jewish Toronto sports fans. It’s hard to understate what Hyman meant to Toronto’s Jewish community: a proud Tannenbaum CHAT graduate, Hyman attended many community events in the city and hosted a UJA Federation charity golf tournament in 2019. Perhaps most importantly, he gave every Jewish hockey fan hope that they could, one day, have a child as successful as him.
It’s likely he’ll find some new Jewish fans Edmonton, at least, which has a population of more than 5,000 Jews.
“We are looking forward to enjoying the next seven years”, Dan Moser, editor of the Alberta Jewish News, told The CJN, adding that he hopes the team’s future is full of “Yiddishkeit, menschlikhkeit, goal-scoring and as many kippah-tricks as the city can handle! Mazal tov, Zach, can’t wait to see you on the ice!”
The 29-year-old Hyman will become the first Jewish Oiler since Mike Cammaleri in 2018 (who was also Canadian), and one of a handful since the team was purchased by Edmonton Talmud Torah alumnus Daryl Katz in 2008. Katz, the billionaire behind the Rexall brand of pharmacies, has recently entered into a moviemaking partnership with Jewish film producer Joel Silver, one of the co-inventors of ultimate Frisbee, who is often discussed on our podcast about Jews and sports, Menschwarmers.
Despite Hyman not yet winning any major individual or team awards in the NHL, it’s been debated within some (very, very niche) circles whether this makes him the most famous and/or successful CHAT graduate. His main competition remains television director Jeremy Podeswa, who earned an Emmy award in 2017 for directing six episodes of Game of Thrones. Our money’s on Hyman.
And if hockey doesn’t end up working out for him—which looks unlikely at this point—the University of Michigan Academic All-American can return to the literary world, where he’s written and published three picture books for children.
Gabe Pulver is one of the hosts of Menschwarmers, a biweekly podcast about Jews and sports. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.