April 30, 2025 by Ryan Lotsberg

One of my favourite things about sports is the way they bring people together. Whether you’re playing on a team, playing with friends, or gathering with thousands of people in an arena or a stadium somewhere to watch a game, sports have a way of uniting people. Sometimes sports connect people from all over the city, and other times they connect people from all over the world.

Fans of the Edmonton Oilers have witnessed how the city of Edmonton comes to life and how people come together when their team is in the playoffs. Thousands gather in the Ice District and the noise can be heard from several blocks away during Oilers games whether they’re on the road or at home. 

A German couple is getting their first taste of Oilers playoff hockey in Edmonton during this year’s first round series against the Los Angeles Kings. Svenja Hülter is from Dortmund, but she’s in Edmonton for 90 days studying at the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta. Her fiancé, Niclas, has crossed the ocean to visit her multiple times during her stay in Edmonton.

Svenja is incredibly passionate about hockey. She has constantly been on the hunt for hockey games to play in during her time in Edmonton. She participated in the Heavy Hockey Showdown on March 15, and she has played in many shinny games in addition to subbing for a local rec league team. She’s a big Oilers fan.

Hockey is a passion that she shares with her father, Dieter, who routinely wakes up in the middle of the night in Germany to watch Oilers hockey. Dieter has been a long-time season ticket holder for his local team, the Iserlohn Roosters (@roosters_hockey on X, @iserlohnroosters_official on Instagram). He’s an encyclopedia when it comes to Roosters hockey.

Niclas is also incredibly passionate about hockey. He speaks about hockey with excitement and enthusiasm! Since childhood, he has been going to hockey games with his brother, Tobi. They play together on various beer league teams, and Tobi still hopes to make it as a pro in his next life. Niclas’s favourite player growing up was Nicklas Lidstrom, but he’s an Oilers fan now.

Svenja’s family recently came to visit her. They went to the final Oilers home game of the regular season. Neither German superstar Leon Draisaitl nor Oilers captain Connor McDavid dressed for that game. Most of the Oilers’ top players missed that game with various injuries. As Kings forward Philip Danault put it, the Oilers dressed their “B-squad” for that game. The Oilers lost that game 5-0, which was a disappointing outcome for Svenja’s family who had travelled so far and were so excited for that game.

Svenja and Niclas have been to Edmonton to watch hockey before, but not in the playoffs. At their first game in 2023, Draisaitl noticed them wearing their Germany jerseys and gave them an official warm-up puck as a gift. Because they appreciated that gesture so much, they swore to each other that they would always support Draisaitl, especially in the Finals. Sticking true to their word, they flew to Florida for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final last year. Once the schedule for round one was announced, the couple pounced on tickets for Games 4 and 6 at Rogers Place so they could experience playoff hockey in Edmonton.

Niclas flew into Edmonton from Germany on Sunday and landed just in time to make it to Rogers Place for pre-game warmups before Game 4. They watched the warmups from right behind the Oilers bench, and Svenja said that Draisaitl made eye contact with them at one point. He clearly noticed the two fans wearing Germany jerseys by the bench again.

Perhaps that was a harbinger of things to come. The Oilers fell behind 2-0 early in the second period, and were trailing 3-1 at the second intermission. It seemed like more disappointment was on the horizon, but things changed in the third period. Evan Bouchard scored two goals in the final frame, including the game-tying goal with less than thirty seconds left. Draisaitl recorded assists on all three Oilers goals in regulation time.

Kings defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov tripped McDavid at 17:34 of the overtime period to send the Oilers to the powerplay. The Oilers funneled a puck to the net, a scramble ensued, and the puck popped out to Draisaitl. He made no mistake with the wide open net from about ten feet. Draisaitl capped the comeback and a four-point night with his first career playoff overtime goal. Not only did Svenja and Niclas get treated to an unbelievable game, their favourite Oiler was the hero!

Related: Callouts, Standouts, and Shoutouts: Oilers even series with dramatic comeback win in Game 4

After the game, they joined me outside to watch the Oilers press conferences from outside the Hall of Fame room on 104 Avenue. The first thing Svenja said to me when she saw me was “What a game!”.

Naturally, Draisaitl and Bouchard were the players being interviewed after the game. Wearing her Germany jersey with the new Oilers jersey she got before Game 2 tied around her waist, Svenja waved her German flag proudly as she watched Draisaitl address the media.

Niclas was trying to get the best possible view of Draisaitl, and he was taking lots of pictures. He showed me a picture of Draisaitl and zoomed in on it. He commented that his favorite thing about Draisaitl’s post-game fit was his blue German Adidas slides. He taught me that they are called “Adiletten” in Germany.

To top the night off, they bumped into Vasily Podkolzin after the press conferences ended, and they got a selfie with him.

Svenja has also had the chance to watch playoff games at the Tailgate Party and the Fan Park in the Ice District. She told me that the moments that will always come to mind for her when she thinks of her experiences there will be the deafening harmonica rendition of the American national anthem over the loudspeakers in the tent at the Fan Park before Game 1, and sitting beside the only Kings fan in the entire Tailgate Party during Game 2. Niclas got to watch Game 5 at the Fan Park. Niclas said that he only knew that kind of atmosphere from the soccer World Cup in Germany. He had goosebumps.

Svenja and Niclas will be heading back to Germany on Saturday. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know them over the past six weeks, and I even had the honour of getting to meet Svenja’s family. They’re wonderful people, and I was so happy for them when Game 4 played out the way it did. I thought it was a fun story that deserved to be shared, and they excitedly gave me permission to do so.

I’ve appreciated their company, and it has been fun for me to see them experience playoff hockey in Edmonton. I’ve seen a lot of Oilers playoff hockey live, and I’ve been a regular in the Ice District for the last few years. It’s almost like I’m experiencing it for the first time again by watching them take it all in. It’s also been fun for me to share my passion with them and to learn a little bit about German hockey as well. They have asked me to travel to Germany and they have invited me to an Iserlohn Roosters game to see German hockey, which is something that I would be excited to take them up on!

Six weeks ago, I had no idea that I would make some new friends that live on the other side of the world; but here we are thanks to the powerful connecting force that is hockey.

Svenja and Niclas will be in attendance at Rogers Place for Game 6 on Thursday night as the Oilers attempt to eliminate the Kings in what will hopefully be an exciting ending to an unforgettable trip.