Regina brewpub cooks up Winnipeg Jets burger for NHL Heritage Classic

As the Winnipeg Jets prepare to face off against the Calgary Flames at the Tim Hortons Heritage Classic on Saturday, a Regina, Sask., brewery is cooking up a similar battle.

Bushwakker Brewpub is planning two new gourmet burger options — one inspired by each team — to serve when the players hit the ice at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

Bar manager Grant Frew said the burger war has been an annual tradition at the brewery for about 10 years for the CFL's Labour Day Classic — and the outcome of the game just happens to always be predicted by which team's burger is more popular.

"It's a perfect record," Frew told CBC Information Radio host Marcy Markusa.

The Winnipeg Jets burger is made with a ground bison and chuck beef patty, and topped with Montreal smoked beef, provolone cheese, caramelized onions, mustard and mayonnaise, while the Calgary Flames burger is made with a ground chuck beef patty, and topped with smoked jalapeno barbecue sauce, Havarti cheese, bacon and thick-cut onion rings.

Both burgers also come with lettuce, tomato and pickles, and will be made on a potato scallion bun.

"You need a very hefty bun that can stand up to the weight and moisture of that patty," said Frew.

Now it's just a matter of whether the burger's perfect record of predicting game outcomes will continue.

"Whether or not that's gonna happen in the first NHL game to ever be played in Regina will remain to be seen," he said. 

Saskatchewan rooting for Jets

Bushwakker is located near the stadium, but Frew said it's not a sports bar by any stretch of the imagination.

"The only time that TV's on is if there's an election, or if the Olympics are going on," he said.

Still, the brewery often gets large crowds of people in jerseys on CFL game days — usually with a few from Winnipeg — and they always make sure to welcome the few blue jerseys in a sea of green.

"I don't want to say we're embracing the enemy, but we do try to show them they are respected here and welcome them into our city," Frew said.

Frew said he's excited for Saturday's game — and he thinks a lot of people in Regina will be cheering for Winnipeg.

"The fact that the team was together for so long … and then they got shipped out down to the [United] States. And now they're back again," he said.

"I think there's a strong feeling that they're the underdog, and when you think about [Saskatchewan Roughriders] fans, we've always been the underdog."

The Jets will play the Flames at Regina's Mosaic Stadium at 9 p.m. CDT Saturday.