Edmonton Oilers players (left to right) Steve MacIntyre, Linus Omark, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Jeff Petry, Theo Peckham and Magnus Paajarvi get their heads shaved in support of Stollery Children's Hospital at the St. Valentine's Day Hair Massacure in West Edmonton Mall. (Photo by Andy Devlin / Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club)

Edmonton Oilers Steve MacIntyre isn’t one to shy away from a fight, and in true game fashion he joined fellow Oilers rookies today for an off-ice battle; the fight against cancer. Thousands of participants and supporters gathered at the West Edmonton Mall Ice Rink for the 9th annual St. Valentine’s Day Hair Massacure.

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Along with MacIntyre, the Oilers head-shave lineup included rookies Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi, Jordan Eberle, Theo Peckham, Jeff Petry and Linus Omark. While the rookies all volunteered to buzz off their tresses, enforcer MacIntyre took it one step further, dying his hair bright pink earlier in the week to increase awareness.

“They asked me to die my hair and get it shaved here on Friday so I said, ‘Let’s do it!”’ said MacIntyre.

While this year marks the largest number of Oilers participants to date, the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation and the Edmonton Oilers have a history of supporting the Hair Massacure.

Last season, former Oiler Patrick O’Sullivan dyed his hair pink and shaved his head while two years ago, then Captain Ethan Moreau and Alternate Captain Ales Hemsky shaved their heads helping to raise thousands of dollars.

“When I was playing junior hockey we shaved our heads for charity and I think it’s great that I get to keep the tradition going with the Oilers,” said Hall.

“Having the Oilers here today was huge. We have minor hockey teams that come here to shed their hair for the cause and to for them to see these NHL players doing the same, it gives credibility to the event and really encourages more teams to get involved,” said Tammy MacDonald, co-creator of Hair Massacure.

Since its inception in 2003, over $4,630,000 has been raised by the Hair Massacure in support of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Northern Alberta. This year, the Hair Massacure is on track to beating last year’s total of $1 million and a new charity, the Ronald McDonald Foundation of Northern Alberta, has been added to the fund recipients list.