The Oilers skated out onto the ice last night for their home opener underneath a replica of the recently-finished Walterdale Bridge. It was the first time we had seen the team use a pre-game prop since the Oil Derrick days of old Skyreach Centre/Rexall Place.

The mini Walterdale was just a one-time thing, though. Apparently, the team was supposed to skate out under the replica bridge last season to celebrate the completion of the River Valley’s new icon, but, well, you know what happened. The bridge’s completion was delayed, which is a perfectly-fitting metaphor for what also happened to the Oilers last season.

Regardless, they got it done this year and used it in the home opener. It was a cool thing to see the Oilers use a pre-game prop again. I mean, I wouldn’t keep using the bridge each and every game, but it was a good one-and-done. Still, the team definitely should bring back some kind of pre-game prop.

That brings us to this week’s What Would You Do Wednesday FRIDAY EDITION question. Should the Oilers have a pre-game prop for their introduction? If so, what should it be? Should they bring back the Oil Derrick from the Skyreach/Rexall days? Or should it be something completely new and unique?

The Derrick didn’t make the trip from Rexall to Rogers when the Oilers moved into their new home back in 2016. I’m not sure where The Derrick is or what it’s being used for at this point, but I imagine the organization was skeptical to bring it to the new arena after it malfunctioned on multiple occasions. Remember in 2011 when it almost fell during a game against Nashville?

The Walterdale Bridge was a nice start, but the Oilers need a fresh, new iconic thing to skate out of before games. Should they just make a new Oil Derrick, like the good old days? Or is that too much nostalgia? If they’re going to go for something new, they should do something locally-related, like the Walterdale Bridge. What’s that humpback whale from West Edmonton Mall doing? It’s gotta be kicking around somewhere. Maybe they could also involve that fire-breathing dragon from the movie theatre too?