LATEST | Shane O'Brien roasts former Oilers star: The hate between them is real

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Cooper Godin
August 20, 2023 (10:52)

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Players are no stranger to hating each other on or even off the ice some times. It's not like the 1980's anymore, where players didn't like each other at all, but we still see individual player rivalries in-game, such as Drew Doughty and Matthew Tkachuk a couple of years ago.

While this is a bit different and the feelings are one-sided, on a recent episode of his podcast, Missin' Curfew, former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Shane O'Brien shared a story about why he hates former Edmonton Oilers star Ryan Smyth, a.k.a. Captain Canada.

"But the reason I hated him is when I signed with Colorado I heard a story about him in preseason" O'Brien said. "He just signed a huge ticket with the Colorado Avalanche, exhibition game, there was a puck in front of the net... this kid shot it. Some young kid that was just playing an exhibition game that I don't think ever played in the NHL. In an exhibition game and Ryan Smyth went to the ref 'It hit my pants' and took the kid's goal in an exhibition game, and this guy was in the league for 10 years by then or maybe more"."

O'Brien went on to add, "At that point I let him know every time I played against him. You think you're Captain Canada Smyth? You're f***ing nuts! Every game I would chirp him 'You're such a f***ing nerd Smythy, no one thinks you're cool, not even people in Edmonton that you think love you'... I hate him, I hate him."

It's definitely understandable where O'Brien is coming from when hearing a story like that. To try and claim that a goal is yours, in a pre-season game, is just a bit ridiculous, especially when the statistics from those games don't even count.

Smyth was always a consistent NHLer, there's no doubt about that, but never surpassed 66 points in a single season, which is what he tallied during the 2005-06 season while with the Edmonton Oilers.

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