'Bouch bomb' chalk art going down outside Moss Pit

Tara Strohschein, a hobby chalk artist in Edmonton, works on a picture of Edmonton Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard firing off a slapshot, or a "Bouch bomb," near the entrance of Ice District's Moss Pit on June 10, 2024. (Evan Klippenstein / CTV News Edmonton)

An Edmonton hobby chalk artist has been tapped by the city to drum up more Oilers excitement.

Tara Strohschein, whose art normally doesn't stray from the driveways and sidewalks of her neighbourhood, was recently asked to bring her talents to the entrance of the Moss Pit in Ice District.

• Complete coverage of the Edmonton Oilers' Stanley Cup Playoffs run

"It's fantastic. It's a little intimidating but I love this," she said on Monday of the task.

As of noon, she had finished the outline of the Oilers No. 2 defenceman Evan Bouchard "firing away the Bouch bomb into that net" and was working on filling it in with the team's signature navy blue – which she can't simply buy.

"So I always go down with the base of the blue chalk you can find, which is a light blue. And then you take a lot of chalk pastels and blend it until it gets close enough. It's not usually bang on but as long as I get close enough to that darker blue colour, I'm happy," she said.

A long time Oilers fan, she's already portrayed Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and mascot Hunter in chalk.

"It was just time for Bouchard. He's the next one that's been really hammering that puck into that net and we need to get past that brick wall today," Strohschein said, referring to Panthers' goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

"I hope that it brings (fans) excitement and that they can rally around this team even more and we can do this.

"I know we can do it."

Game 2 between the Oilers and Panthers in Sunrise, Fla., starts at 6 p.m. MT on Monday.

Edmonton is looking to tie the series after losing 3-0 in Game 1 on Saturday.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Evan Klippenstein