The Stanley Cup came to Alberta on Tuesday.
It’s an NHL tradition that each player and key staff member of the Stanley Cup-winning team gets the trophy for roughly 24 hours during the summer and Jordan Martinook used his turn to bring the trophy home.
“It’s the most incredible trophy and I wanted to share with my hometown,” Martinook said.
The Carolina Hurricanes forward and alternate captain brought hockey’s greatest prize to his hometown of Leduc, where hundreds of fans gathered to celebrate at the Leduc Recreation Centre.
“I think it’s a culmination of your life of hard work and something you dream about since you’re a little kid,” Martinook said.
He’s the first player from Leduc to win the Cup and bring it home, where Leduc residents and hockey fans from the Edmonton region lined up for a chance to touch the Cup and get a photo with it.
“Being able to share it and bring it into the town you grew up with is so special.”
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Walking in to thunderous cheers and applause at the rec centre he spent so much of his life at was an emotional moment for the 34-year-old.
“I grew up playing here. I worked out in this gym. I ran around this track — this is pretty cool.”
The Hurricanes won the trophy earlier this summer in Game 6 against the Vegas Golden Knights, 20 years after beating the Edmonton Oilers in 2006 for their first Stanley Cup title.
The Cup touched down Tuesday morning at Edmonton International Airport, where it was given an RCMP escort across the highway to Leduc.
The Stanley Cup travels approximately 300 days each year as part of its annual summer championship tour, according to the NHL.
The tradition began in 1995 and continues today, with the Cup always accompanied by at least one representative from the Hockey Hall of Fame.
It has been to more than 25 countries around the world, including Afghanistan, Austria, Bahamas, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Russia, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Nicole Stillger has more in the video above.
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