Stanley Cup on hand at the Ice Mine
LEISENRING — The Stanley Cup sure gets around.
The iconic trophy famously tours the world in the months after the NHL champion has been decided, but the Cup’s travels are not limited to the summer months.
The oldest team trophy in North America makes its rounds during the NHL regular season and one of those stops was the Ice Mine before the Johnstown Tomahawks-Keystone Ice Miners NAHL game Saturday night.
The Stanley Cup has traveled around the world, including stays in Russia, Japan, and Switzerland as well as atop mountain peaks through the Rockies and inside igloos in Canada’s newest territory, Nunavut. Now, the unique trophy can scratched Fayette County off the list of places visited.
“We try to get to as many fans as we can,” said Phil Pritchard, vice president and curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame. “We were in Youngstown, Ohio (on Friday) and are going to Johnstown (today). The fans in Youngstown had Detroit, Columbus and Pittsburgh jerseys on. Loyalty to the home team is great.”
The Stanley Cup was presented to sponsors, season ticket holders and fans before the game, allowing those in attendance opportunities for photos and a glimpse at the trophy won three times by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Stanley Cup stands 35¼ inches tall and weighs in at 34½ pounds. The original cup presented by Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley, Lord Stanley of Preston, to the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association in 1893 is about 7¼ inches in height and not quite 11½ inches in diameter.
Currently the Cup consists of a bowl, three tiered bands, a collar, and five barrel or uniform bands.
Each of the barrels (or rings) is 18¼ inches tall and barrels are routinely retired for the addition of more recent champions. There are 2,424 names engraved on the Stanley Cup, including the names from the Penguins on three different barrel rings: Ring 3 (1990-91), Ring 4 (1991-92), and Ring (2008-09).
When the new champions are engraved onto the Cup, the trophy is disassembled from the top down. The band to be engraved is then stamped on a specially made jig unique to the trophy and each letter is punched into the silver of the trophy.
“It’s the one and only,” Pritchard said of the Stanley Cup. “Players get a miniature version, but there’s only one Stanley Cup.”
Pritchard said he enjoys seeing the fans enjoying their fleeting moment with the trophy.
“The patience and the smiles of the fans, it’s a great thing. Fans have such respect. It’s always great to take the Cup to different places. Fans are very respectful and very welcome,” praised Pritchard. “The Stanley Cup makes hockey unique. Winning the Cup was last year, now they have to win it again.
“After 100 days (after the Stanley Cup Finals), the Stanley Cup goes back into circulation.”