The Edmonton Oilers have collaborated with four local artists for cultural logos this season – and every one of them has a MacEwan connection.

Each logo celebrates a culture that reflects the Oilers community and fanbase, and players are able to wear them on their warmup jerseys and in the dressing room.

The first of these designs was created by former MacEwan student Lance Cardinal, whose Turtle Island logo was originally featured in 2021. His design hit the ice again in November 2023 as part of the Oilers’ Indigenous Celebration, marking the first cultural night of this season.

Pete Nguyen, Design Foundations ’05, took inspiration from Chinese culture for his Lunar New Year logo, which was featured on February 13. 

AJA Louden (Design Studies ’12, Design Foundations ’10) created a logo in celebration of Black History Month. The 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient’s design appeared on jerseys on February 21. 

The final logo, by former student Sunny Nerval, will be featured during the team’s South Asian Celebration. Nerval, a lifelong Oilers fan, says that the logo was a group effort, and was created alongside graphic designer JC Lutao. The imagery used was consciously chosen to differentiate his logo.

“Playing hockey growing up, most of the South Asian teams would have a tiger or a lion in their team logos, so to us those animals felt like they were a bit cliché,” he explains. “The peacock is a beautiful animal and we wanted to showcase that while also keeping the core focus on the iconic Oilers logo.”

All four specialty logos are available on limited-edition merchandise for purchase at the Oilers Team Store, both in-person and online. Proceeds from sales will go to community groups chosen by the artists.

Nerval chose Every Kid Deserves a Shot to help give South Asian kids the opportunity to play hockey, he says.

Being able to represent his culture in such a visible way means the world to Nerval. “You see other teams like Vancouver and San Jose having these themed nights, and to be able to work with your favourite team on their first South Asian night is something that I take a lot of pride in.”

Catch Nerval’s logo on the ice during the South Asian Celebration game on March 21.