Oilers' Bear wears name spelled out in Cree syllabics for exhibition game

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Ethan Bear honored his Indigenous heritage by wearing his name spelled out in Cree syllabics for an exhibition game against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

"It will be an honor to wear this jersey tonight," Bear told the Oilers website prior to the game. "I feel like I will be wearing it for all those Indigenous players who came before me and those Indigenous kids dreaming of playing in the NHL."

For Bear and the Oilers, it was the first live game action since the 2019-20 season was paused on March 12.

"It's very honorable to the players that played before me and then to the young indigenous kids who want to play in the NHL, it's very honorable for me. I wore it with pride tonight. It was very awesome," Bear said following the game.

The choice and significance was not lost on Grand Chief Dr. Wilton Littlechild

"As the International Chief for Treaties 6, 7 and 8, and a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, I cannot express my gratitude enough to the Edmonton Oilers and the National Hockey League for this most positive act of Reconciliation," Chief Littlechild told the Oilers website. "The spirit name in Cree for Maskwa is also one of our sacred teachings of courage and that is what the bear represents. Ethan brings all of us great pride with his strength and natural ability to overcome challenges. This is significant and people everywhere will be reminded when they see the syllabics on Ethan's jersey to have courage, be confident and be brave."

-NHL.com staff writer Tim Campbell contributed to this report.