EDMONTON

'I wore it with pride': Oilers' Bear wears Cree nameplate in game vs. Flames

Diego Romero CTVNewsEdmonton.ca Journalist

Published Wednesday, July 29, 2020 2:55PM MDT

Edmonton Oilers Ethan Bear (74) wears his jersey with his name in Cree during warm up against the Calgary Flames before their NHL exhibition game action in Edmonton, on Tuesday July 28, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

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EDMONTON -- Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ethan Bear's jersey nameplate read his name in Cree in Tuesday night's exhibition game against the Calgary Flames.

Bear was raised in the Ochapowace Nation — a Cree First Nation near Whitewood, Sask.

The Oilers defenceman and his family designed the nameplate for Pro Am Sports.

Cree and Japanese jersey nameplates honour heritage of two Oilers players

Bear wore the jersey in the Oilers' 4-1 over the Flames at Rogers Place where he played nearly 20 minutes and had two shots on goal.

"It's very honourable. It's honourable to players that played before and to the young Indigenous kids who wanna play in the NHL. It's very honourable for me. I wore it with pride tonight and it's very awesome."

The Oilers begin their play-in series against the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday at 1 p.m. in Edmonton.