For some sailors, the names of the ships at CFB Esquimalt evoke memories of home.
“Each of these ships is named after a city,” explains HMCS Edmonton Lieutenant Commander Les Gunderson.
Gunderson is the captain of HMCS Edmonton, and as a native of Camrose, Alberta, there could not be a finer fit.
“This makes 20 years for me in the navy, and I haven’t regretted a single day,” he stated on Thursday.
HMCS Edmonton, like every other cruiser, proudly flies the Canadian flag, however there has recently been another pennant flying in the breeze.
The Edmonton Oiler flag marks this ship as an extension of “Oil Country.”
“By the laws of the sea, this is Edmonton territory,” Gunderson remarked. The flag was raised during the Oilers’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings, and the Oilers’ social media team took notice on May 1st, retweeting a photograph of the Oiler flag floating high above the Salish Sea.
It turns out that oil and water mix well during the playoffs.
When the Oilers against Canucks contest was revealed last week, Gunderson says there was some good-natured joking over the radio between HMCS Edmonton and HMCS Vancouver, both docked in Esquimalt.
However, since Wednesday’s series-opening success, HMCS Vancouver has been all float and no boast.
“They’re into the second round, they just won the Pacific Division, they just won game one, I think their confidence level’s just going to go through the roof over there,” stated Gunderson.
While he prepares for a friendly verbal shot across the bow, Gunderson isn’t hesitant to make a prediction.
“Edmonton’s going to come out on top in seven,” he declares. “But Vancouver’s a great team.”
