‘Strength and honour young man’: Actor Russell Crowe shouts out Oilers’ Devon Levi

It’s not every day that you get a shout-out from an Oscar winner.

During a postgame interview, following a 1-0 shutout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers goaltender Devon Levi was asked about his routine that takes place during media timeouts, where he kneels down and puts his bare hand to the ice. The former Buffalo Sabres prospect credits a famous movie for his on-ice “antics.”

“If I’m being honest,” Levi explained to Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas. “There’s a scene in Gladiator where he picks up the sand and kind of plays with it. I’ve always kind of liked that. It always connected with me. I don’t know if that’s why I did it, but that was a cool scene.”

The comments caught the attention of the actor who played Maximus in the amazing 2000 film, as Russell Crowe posted out the clip, sending praise to the young netminder, properly paying homage to the character he portrayed over a quarter-century ago.

“Strength and honour, young man,” Crowe wrote in the social media post.

Levi noted that his routine is something he does to refocus his attention during the game.

“Just a little ritual to connect with the ice,” Levi added on Saturday. “Something I started doing at the beginning of the year, and I enjoy it. Kind of locks me in, the feeling of the cold.”

Crowe himself is no stranger to hockey. The New Zealander starred in the criminally underrated hockey flick, Mystery, Alaska (1999), which came out shortly before Gladiator. In that film, Crowe played John Biebe, the captain of a local hockey team that hosted the New York Rangers.

Levi has become known for his rather unique antics that can be tied to movies. When he first broke into the NHL, he used to kneel in the slot, facing his goal, similar to that of Qui-Gon Jinn from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The NHL forced him to move off to the side, claiming he was trying to soften up the spot between the faceoff circles. The Quebec native continued the ritual off to the ice during timeouts.

Levi stopped all 19 shots he faced against the Leafs on Saturday. In 10 games this year, he has a record of 9-1-0, with a 2.48 goals-against average, a .906 save percentage and one shutout.