Travelling Jagrs are a mulleted militia
Under the lights of an outdoor hockey rink in Calgary’s Tuscany neighbourhood, they gathered Monday evening for a game of shinny and a tryout of sorts.
Side by side they sat, putting on their skates, gloves and mullets before heading onto the ice wearing different-coloured jerseys. All wore No. 68.
One night before they stormed the Scotiabank Saddledome for Tuesday’s game between the Calgary Flames and the Florida Panthers, the Travelling Jagrs held an audition to find the next member of their group.
“We lost our Czech Jagr, so we’re going to get a new one,” Chris Richter, one of the group’s co-founders, said before puck drop. “We set up a Facebook page and one guy sent a resume in online this morning, but we put ‘rejected’ on it because he was a Leafs fan.”
Those who arrived Tuesday night thinking admission to the well-coiffed club came simply with sporting a Jagr jersey and a mullet were sadly mistaken.
“We never cheer for the home team or even his team, the Panthers. We cheer for Jagr only,” said Richter, 34. “We’re always at his pre-game skates, but we never stand up until he hits the ice. And when he leaves the ice, we head to the concourse.”
They’ll do so sporting beer and all the different jerseys the 44-year-old Jagr has worn as an NHLer, complete with matching hockey pants and socks.
“I think we have 20 tickets in the nosebleeds Tuesday, so you might see a theme of too many Jagrs,” Richter said with a chuckle pre-game. “He knows we’re always around. He always acknowledges us during the pre-game skate. I don’t think he knew what to think at first, but he knows that we’re happy to support him. I think he gets a kick out of it.”
The idea originated a handful of years ago, when a few of the lads wore Jagr costumes to a Vegas Halloween party and got a huge response. They’ve since made it a semi-annual outing, attending Jagr’s games in Calgary and Edmonton while also sprinkling in trips to Boston, Washington, Philadelphia and Florida.
“We’ve had a hoot travelling to different cities,” Richter said. “We pose for hundreds of photos all game — it’s all we do. It’s for the fans too. Hopefully he scores one for us.”