Oilers pep rally held at mini Moss Pit at south Edmonton school

Students at the Edmonton school named for the Oilers' longtime locker assistant held a rally to cheer on the team ahead of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

A south Edmonton school that shares its namesake with local Oilers icon Joey Moss held a pre-game pep rally for the team on Thursday afternoon.

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The Joey Moss School, which has more than 900 students enrolled, is a K-9 school that opened in September 2022. It has a learning commons area that is affectionately named the “Moss Pit” and it pays tribute to Moss, who died in 2020 at the age of 57.

Moss started working with the Oilers in the mid-80s after being brought to the attention of team management by Wayne Gretzky. He served as a locker room attendant and in other roles throughout his time with the team and he was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

Students in the school’s Moss Pit held signs and cardboard cutouts of their favourite players while chanting and cheering for the team ahead of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Vance, a grade 3 student at the school, told CTV News Edmonton before the rally that the Oilers have his full support.

“They’re a big part of my life and I just want to cheer them on and bring all the energy I can,” he said, adding that his favourite player is Leon Draisaitl.

“I’m German. He’s from Germany. His number is 29. My birth number is 29,” Vance said while listing the things he had in common with the Oilers forward.

“They’re doing it this year. It’s our year. We’re going to win this year.”

Grade 4 students Abyaan and Essam shared Vance’s prediction.

“(The) Stanley Cup needs to come home now,” said Abyaan.

Essam predicts a 5-3 win for the Oilers in Thursday’s game.

Both students had one message for the team, “Go Oilers! Go!” they chanted in unison.

The puck drops at 6 p.m. on Thursday for Game 4. The Edmonton Oilers are down 2 games to 1 against the Florida Panthers.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Galen McDougall