The tour of the Stanley Cup through Calgary continued on Wednesday as Colorado Avalanche winger Logan O’Connor shared his day with the NHL’s top honour with young fans at the Flames Community Arena.
Maja Moller, whose family counts themselves Avalanche fans, said meeting O’Connor and being able to touch the cup was among the top memories in her 13 years.
“It’s pretty exciting this year,” she said. “I don’t play hockey, but basically my entire family does.”
Gavin Ferguson, a first-year Calgary Royals player, said being able to put his hands on the Stanley Cup was an inspiration for his playing career.
“I want to make it to the ‘Dub (WHL), hopefully get drafted (into the NHL) and maybe go the NCAA route,” he said.
Both O’Connor, a Royals alumnus, and Avs teammate Cale Makar played college hockey before playing in the NHL.
O’Connor said it’s been a whirlwind couple of days, bringing the Stanley Cup back to the city he grew up in and sharing it with family – including at the family’s clothing store in the Beltline Wednesday morning – and young fans.
“Our family’s motto has always been, ‘It takes a village to get someone to this level and then win.’ So, to share it with everyone, the young kids – see the smiles on faces – that’s what it’s all about,” he said.
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Makar and O’Connor paid a visit to the Alberta Children’s Hospital on Tuesday night, organized by the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation.
In pictures posted by Alberta Health Services, the Avalanche players are seen outside the hospital, showing kids the NHL’s top award, even placing a baby inside the cup.
O’Connor said it was “pretty cool” to see the responses on children’s faces as they saw the cup up close or through the windows of the hospital.
“That was pretty special, you know, sharing that with kids who are going through some tough times and just try and provide a little light in their life,” the 25-year-old winger said Wednesday.
Stanley on the Bow
Earlier on Tuesday, the Avs players took to the Bow River with the Stanley Cup, riding in a Calgary Fire Department water rescue boat. Onlookers lined the shores and bridges to see them hoist the 17-kilogram trophy on the river.
“It’s amazing to see how many people came out just with a quick Instagram post,” Makar said Tuesday.
O’Connor recalled the reaction boaters on the river had to sharing the waterway with the silver and nickel alloy trophy.
“You could see some rafts that they really had no idea what was going on,” he said. “They had this fire boat speeding right at them and then they can see the Stanley Cup, and you could sort of see them look at each other being like, ‘That can’t be the Stanley Cup.’”
The duo raised the Stanley Cup over their heads multiple times while floating down the Bow, mirroring the team’s actions in June after beating the Tampa Bay Lightning.
But unlike the moments before the team photo, neither Makar nor O’Connor dropped hockey’s greatest prize.
“I’ve been concerned every time I pick it up to drop it,” O’Connor said. “It’s precious cargo.”
The Avalanche players get to enjoy being Stanley Cup champions for two more months before the puck drops on another season.
The title “Stanley Cup champion” is a reality O’Connor is still wrapping his head around.
“Slowly, the longer we get from Stanley Cup championship day, the more it’s setting in.”
On Thursday, 2022 Norris and Conn Smythe winner Makar plans to take the cup to his old stomping grounds: the Crowchild Twin Arena.
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