Edmundson, Stanley Cup draw massive crowd

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This article was published 09/07/2019 (2461 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon’s Joel Edmundson shared his new trophy with a few thousand of his closest friends on Monday.

The St. Louis Blues defenceman had his day with the Stanley Cup and took it to the Keystone Centre’s UCT Pavilion, where he posed for pictures with sports’ most hallowed prize from 1 to 5 p.m. Some fans spent more than two hours in line for the chance to snap a quick picture with Edmundson and the National Hockey League’s championship trophy.

“It’s a dream come true,” the 26-year-old Edmundson told reporters after arriving at the Keystone Centre with the Stanley Cup. “It’s something I always wanted to do and the moment we won the Cup, I was just excited because I knew I was going to bring it back home.”

People entered to see Edmundson and the Cup on the east side of the Keystone Centre through the exterior doors of the Manitoba Room, where a long line snaked around the giant space and into the UCT Pavilion. After signing in, people were ushered into a curtained-off area for a quick photo with Edmundson and the Cup.

Cole Armstrong, 11, stood in line with his younger brother Hudson, 8, and mother Amber. He enjoyed his chance to see the Stanley Cup and meet Edmundson.

“It’s awesome,” Cole said. “It’s like a dream.”

His younger brother agreed.

“It was really exciting,” Hudson said, who liked it even better because an NHL player was standing beside it.

Last Friday, former Brandon Wheat Kings forward Brayden Schenn had the Stanley Cup in his hometown of Saskatoon, and he took it to Royal University Hospital and later to the Saskatoon Fire Station 1, where his father works as an acting battalion chief.

It was arguably a much bigger undertaking in Brandon on Monday.

With a team of volunteers handling various assignments and several Brandon Police Service officers on hand, Edmundson’s father Bob was able to make time to chat with friends.

Prior to the event, he called organizers in Dauphin who were involved in the Stanley Cup event last year — Barry Trotz won it as head coach of the Washington Capitals — to get a sense of what to expect. As a result, the incredible response on Monday wasn’t a complete shock and was handled in an orderly fashion.

“They planned for 1,500 people and had over 5,000 show up,” Bob Edmundson said of Dauphin. “When we heard that, we sort of fell back in our seats and said ‘What should we expect in Brandon?’ … The turnout here is fabulous. We’re loving it.”

As people entered the curtained-off area, their eyes invariably went to the shiny 89-centimetre trophy and then to the six-foot-four defenceman who stood to its left.

“There are so many people who helped me to get where I am,” Edmundson said. “Everyone in this city means a lot to me and I was just excited to bring it home.”

It will be a busy summer for the NHL’s top prize as Blues players and staff each have their day with it.

The Stanley Cup will visit eight Canadian provinces, seven American states and five countries on three continents as it travels more than 45,000 kilometres this summer before heading home to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Bob Edmundson said he and wife Lois are still trying to process this most unusual of life experiences. It was an amazing moment, and a long way from when he was transporting a young boy to practices and games.

“It’s beyond what you would imagine,” Bob Edmundson said, noting the Blues had many ups and downs as they played 26 of a possible 28 playoff games. “Whether you’re a player dreaming of it as a young kid or an adult dreaming it for your kids, I don’t think you can picture it like it is … As a family, we’re just embracing it. It doesn’t seem real yet.”

The couple travelled to most of the team’s playoff games, and were in the arena when the Blues raised the Stanley Cup on June 12 with a 4-1 victory in Game 7 over the Boston Bruins.

Many surreal moments would follow.

“The first one was in Boston after they handed the Cup to the team and Joel had a chance to parade around as they handed off to each other,” Bob said. “He turned to us and skated with his hands in the air. That hit me really hard because whether you’re five years old playing (minor hockey), or whether you’re 25 or 26 and playing in the NHL, you know your parents are in the crowd.”

» With files from Colin Slark

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @PerryBergson