Oilers introduce Hunter the Canadian Lynx mascot

The Edmonton Oilers have a furry addition to the family to go along with their new Rogers Place home. Edmonton announced Monday its first official mascot, Hunter the Canadian Lynx.
He's named after the Oilers' original owner, "Wild Bill" Hunter, and he'll wear No. 72 on his jersey for the year the Oilers began play. He also has the most prominent lynx feature, four canine teeth the cats use to puncture and grip their prey.

Edmonton students chose the lynx as the mascot in a vote. Hunter showed his appreciation by visiting an area school and doing mascot things for the children.

In his introduction on the Oilers website, Hunter tells quite the backstory that started in Edmonton's River Valley.
"Like my lynx family and friends, I only come out at night to hunt, and on one of those nights I actually came across a bunch of kids playing hockey on an outdoor rink," he says. "One look at the game and I was hooked. The speed, the skill, the fun! I began climbing up the banks of the River Valley every night during the winter, catching shinny games with everyone wearing their Edmonton Oilers jerseys, both old and new! It didn't take me long to become a hard core Oilers fan."
He then describes building a secret den at Rogers Place construction site.
"Just as the finishing touches were being made to the building, I revealed myself to the Oilers," he explains. "After their initial shock of a lynx living in a secret den below Rogers Place, they quickly realized how HUGE a fan I was, and how committed I was to the team."
You can follow Hunter
on Instagram
.