Teenage Edmonton Oilers superfan takes the trip of a lifetime with Air Canada Fan Flight

When Edmonton Oilers superfan Aidan O’Halloran stepped into the Edmonton International Airport one early morning in February, he had no idea what awaited.

All he knew was that he and his family were going on a trip and that it was somewhere warm. When he arrived, he was greeted by the Oilers mascot, Hunter, who laid out the red carpet for Aidan and his family. Hunter presented Aidan with a giant Air Canada boarding pass, making it official: Aidan was going, alongside his family, to see his favourite team play the Tampa Bay Lightning in sunny Florida.

Aidan, who is 15 years old and lives with Down Syndrome and Apraxia, is largely non-verbal, however, he couldn’t contain his excitement as he learned about the trip. Making the news even sweeter, he was given a custom Oilers jersey with his last name on the back, and it was signed by the whole team.

A deserving recipient

Recipients of an Air Canada Fan Flight were nominated through the Air Canada Foundation, whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of children and foster hope for kids facing adversity, encouraging them to spread their wings. Aidan was nominated because of his passion for hockey, both on the ice and watching the Oilers at home with his family.

Every Saturday, Aidan plays hockey through Hockey Education Reaching Out Society (HEROS) in the SuperHEROS program in Edmonton. This program aims to help kids between the ages of 7-17 with cognitive or physical disabilities get on the ice to play the game they love.

His 20-year-old sister Lauren, who was also surprised by the trip, loves to spend her weekends working for HEROS, and is lucky to be a coach for Aidan and his teammates every Saturday morning.

“Aidan has been a player [in the SuperHEROES program] for five years and I started coaching four years ago,” Lauren said. “I think that has really built up our connection.

“I think he’s taught me a lot about life and without Aidan, I wouldn’t be the person I am. We help each other out a lot.”

They boarded the flight in the early hours of the day in icy Edmonton and managed to find themselves in sunny Florida that night. The family had a free day to enjoy the city, hitting up the Florida aquarium and embracing the warm weather.

A VIP gameday experience

The next day was game day. Air Canada had organized a special trip to Amalie Arena for the family to watch the Oilers go through their morning skate. Aidan was thrilled to be so close to his hockey heroes and was lucky enough to receive a stick from Oilers forward Vasily Podkolzin.

Aidan and Lauren also had the chance to have a face-to-face meeting with Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch following the skate.

“That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, you don’t get that experience every day,” Lauren said of meeting Knoblauch.

“From watching the guy every second night on TV in post-game conferences to actually being able to ask the questions you’ve been wanting to ask for a while, that in itself was an experience we’re all going to take away from this.”

After a quick dip back at the hotel pool, it was time to get ready for the game. Luckily, the O’Halloran family was ready to cheer on their team, each wearing fresh new Oilers jerseys courtesy of Air Canada.

Leon Draisaitl opened the scoring with a powerplay goal in the first period, and Aidan and his family were cheering at the top of their lungs. Unfortunately, the Lightning wound up taking the game with a score of 4-1.

A lasting memory

Though it wasn’t the result that everybody wanted, you couldn’t wipe the smile off Aidan’s face at the end of the game. He waved his Oilers flag proudly while exiting the rink and was as energetic as ever.

As Lauren put it while in the Tampa Airport waiting for their flight back home to Edmonton, it was a trip that they will never forget.

“We don’t get to take family trips a lot with all of our schedules,” Lauren said. “Being able to go outside the country for the first time was such a special experience.”

The SuperHEROS program runs every Saturday morning in Edmonton at the Kinsmen Twin Arenas and are always looking for volunteer coaches to help out.

The author of this story was hosted in Tampa by Air Canada and the Air Canada Fan Flight program.