Oilers' Jujhar Khaira carries pride of South Asian community (2024)

There’s a furor of sorts brewing outside the insular walls of the Edmonton Oilers locker-room where Jujhar Khaira, the man of interest, is just trying to find his bearings in the National Hockey League.

Harnarayan Singh, the host and play-by-play commentator for Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi, has seen the spikes on social media and the preponderance of articles in the Punjabi papers and he’s heard the discussions on the radio programs since the winger made his debut.

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Khaira is the third player of East Indian descent to play in the NHL, following journeyman Robin Bawa, who played 61 games in the 1990s (Washington, Vancouver, San Jose, Anaheim), and Manny Malhotra, the 1998 pick of the New York Rangers who went on to play 991 games.

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“It’s obviously cool hearing the stat and all that, but at the end of the day, I feel like everybody is on the same spectrum. You want to make it regardless of race.

“I put enough pressure on myself as it is,” said Khaira.

When Khaira, a first-generation Canadian, was selected by the Oilers in the third round of the 2012 draft, it was another milestone in the community.The path he was following was not well-travelled. Kevin Sundher, who trained with Khaira in Surrey, B.C., was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres two years earlier and the Vancouver Canucks selected Prab Ria in 2008.

Defenceman Ajay Baines, now 37, played nine seasons in the American Hockey League but was never drafted and he never played a game in the NHL.

“It’s huge,” said Singh. “I will remember the day for the rest of my life because if I think about it just with my career, this is my ninth season calling games and other than Manny Malhotra, we’ve never had another Punjabi player in that time.

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“It is just a matter of time before we start hearing more and more Punjabi names in the NHL. I mean, there’s a number of players coming up through the junior leagues and I think Khaira is going to inspire a lot more young Punjabi kids born here in Canada to pursue hockey.

“It’s about growing the game and it’s something the sport needs, given the way the country’s demographics have changed.”

Khaira’s parents, Sukhjinder and Komal, were at Rexall Place on Wednesday to take in his game against the Boston Bruins. It was their first chance to sit in the stands and watch him play in two years.

It was also Komal’s first NHL game. She had always said if she went to an NHL game, she’d go when he was playing.

“Surreal is a good word to describe it,” she said. “I don’t think it’s hit us yet. Just to see him was a highlight, but to see him have that opportunity was just a roller-coaster of emotions.

“We’re still trying to process it.”

They have since returned to their home in Langley, B.C. where Sukhjinder — a strapping presence at six-foot-four — is a gravel truck operator. Komal is a speech language pathologist.

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Jujhar’sbrother Sahvan, 17, plays forthe Seattle Thunderbirds.

“I played basketball, volleyball…Our parents put us into everything. But I loved hockey right from the get-go,” said Khaira, a six-foot-three, 214-pound presence on the fourth line. “There was something about being on the ice that was special for me.”

Khaira — JJ to his teammates — was called up from the Bakersfield Condors on Nov. 26 after Nail Yakupov left the lineup with a sprained ankle.

He flew into Detroit with a hastily packed suitcase, a racing heart and no idea what to expect. The Oilers held him out against the Red Wings, then sent him out with Anton Lander and Matt Hendricks against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He played his fourth straight NHL game on Friday when the Oilers hosted the Dallas Stars and was effective enough that by the second period, he was playing with Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl on the top line.

“With the pace of the game, I was like ‘Wow, I have to step up here.’ I remember there was a rim along the boards and I turned up and tried to get speed and right away the guy was on me. He lifted my stick, took the puck, and I was like, ‘OK, this is it, I have to be heavier on my stick’ … It was good to get that out of the way on my first shift.

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“Now I know I can make plays, that I don’t have to get rid of the puck as fast. I’m kind of finding my game. At first you run around trying to get hits, but now I’m used to the pace, to reading when I can throw a hit.”

Oilers head coach Todd McLellan said he’s certain that there’s more to the young winger’s game but acknowledged that Khairais still trying to get his feet wet.There’s no disputing the fact he has the size and strength — the heaviness — of a power forward.

Khaira, 21, played a season with Michigan Tech and another with the Everett Silvertips in the Western Hockey League before his first pro campaign with the Oklahoma City Barons in 2014-15.

“I hope that he pushes so hard that we don’t consider sending him back, but we have some time to make those decisions because of injuries,” said McLellan.

jireland@edmontonjournal.com

Twitter.com/jirelandEJ

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