Ex-Oilers goaltender Dubnyk shares hilarious story about playing with Bryzgalov

While nearly every hockey fan remembers the quirkiness of former goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, many forget that he had a brief stint with the Edmonton Oilers.

Despite being with the Oilers for only part of the 2013-14 season, it was enough for another former goaltender, Devan Dubnyk, to get a read on just how interesting of a character Bryzgalov was. Dubnyk, who spent his first five NHL seasons as an Oiler, recently hopped on the Cam & Strick podcast to discuss his playing career, and he was quick to bring up a hilarious story about his short time spent with Bryzgalov.

“I played with Bryz in Edmonton,” Dubnyk explained. “He’d be talking to me about Russian airlines in between the first and second period. I’m like, ‘Dude, what? What’re you talking about?’ He’s like, ‘Ya, I wouldn’t get on them. They’re not safe.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m not getting on a Russian airline. I’m trying to go play a period in the NHL… Bring it up tomorrow. We can sit down at breakfast and talk about Russian airlines, but maybe not in between the first and second period of a hockey game.'”

That 2013-14 season was a complete disaster for the Oilers, and resulted in them trading Dubnyk to the Nashville Predators in mid-January. The now-retired 37-year-old went on to have several successful seasons afterward, which included time spent with the Arizona Coyotes, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, and Colorado Avalanche.

As for Bryzgalov, he wound up being dealt to the Minnesota Wild less than two months after Dubnyk was shipped out. Despite only appearing in 20 games as an Oiler, you can’t help but wonder how many other teammates of his during his short time in Edmonton have similar, quirky stories about the 43-year-old.

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