thedrifter
06-19-07, 04:43 AM
Camp Pendleton Marines get day with Lord Stanley's Cup
By: MIKE SULLIVAN - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON -- Delbert Hilliard admired the shiny silver trophy from about 20 feet away on Monday before maneuvering forward for a close-up look. When the opportunity arose, the 29-year-old staff sergeant, sporting camouflage Marine attire, approached the table and posed with the famed Stanley Cup.
Then in a scene repeated often during the hockey trophy's 90-minute appearance at Camp Pendleton, Hilliard shrieked with joy. He was ecstatic to have put his hands on the glittering three-foot-high, 35-pound trophy that was first awarded in 1893.
"I've touched the Cup," Hilliard said. "You can't beat it. It's the Stanley Cup. How many people can say they touched it?"
A long steady line of Camp Pendleton marines and base residents were added to the list on a sun-baked afternoon as three key players of the National Hockey League champion Anaheim Ducks accompanied the Stanley Cup to Camp Pendleton.
Scott Niedermayer, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the postseason's Most Valuable Player, and teammates Dustin Penner and Chris Kunitz toured the base and later signed autographs and posed for pictures.
The Ducks became the first team from California to win the Stanley Cup earlier this month by defeating Ottawa 4-1 in the best-of-seven series. The organization is showing off the Stanley Cup -- the name comes from Lord Frederick Stanley, who donated the cup 114 years ago -- at various locations around Southern California.
"To be able to bring the Stanley Cup to California for the first time is a pretty special thing so it's been a fun two weeks," Niedermayer said. "Then to get an opportunity to see how things work out here is a great experience for us. It's nice to see the hockey fans here to get a picture and see the Stanley Cup."
While people touched, tilted and even kissed the Cup, Mike Bolt of the Hockey Hall of Fame stood in the distance, keeping a close eye on the festivities.
Bolt's job is to protect the Stanley Cup and he estimates he's on the road with the Cup over 300 days a year.
Occasionally, Bolt has to caution someone from being a bit overzealous.
"Sometimes fans get a little excited, which you can understand," Bolt said. "They want to lift it like the players and I explain to the fan that you have to earn the right.
"No lifting the cup. You have to go out and win it."
The tradition of the Stanley Cup calls for each player on the winning team to have it for a 24-hour time period. The players' schedule with the Cup is currently being finalized and Bolt will be along for every step of the travels.
The Cup has already been making the rounds since Anaheim won it 13 days ago. The Ducks took the Cup on a cruise up the Southern California coast last weekend, stopping at various watering holes along the shore to show it off.
It also went to some Orange County hospitals and four of the team's star players -- goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, defensemen Chris Pronger and Niedermayer, plus Niedermayer's younger brother, Rob, a center -- showed it off to neighbors at dinners or parties.
Anaheim defenseman Sean O'Donnell filled the top of the Cup with dog food so his black Labrador retriever, Buddy, could eat from it. Buddy's not the first animal to eat from the Cup -- Ed Olczyk of the New York Rangers fed Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin from the Cup in 1994.
Other odd things done with the Stanley Cup in recent years include Detroit's Steve Yzerman showering with the Cup and Colorado's Sylvain Lefebvre getting his daughter baptized in it. Numerous other players have slept with it.
Later this week, the Stanley Cup will be on display in Columbus, Ohio, in conjunction with the NHL Draft before resuming its stay with the Ducks. So far, the players say the trophy has been well received by Southern Californians.
"Do as many people down here understand the history as they do in Toronto or Vancouver? No, and I understand that," Niedermayer said. "But there are people that love their hockey and know a lot about hockey down here. Are they the majority? No. But they are great fans and give great support."
Both Niedermayer (Cranbrook, British Columbia) and Penner said they plan to take the Stanley Cup to their Canadian hometowns when they get their 24 hours with the Cup. Niedermayer figures he'll host a barbecue to show it off while Penner just wants to socialize with it.
"I'm from the small farming community of Winkler (Manitoba) and it just became a city last summer," Penner said. "I'm going to bring it back there and hang out with some friends and then take it up to the big city in Winnipeg and just hang out with it."
Hanging out with it is exactly what the assembled hockey fans at Camp Pendleton were doing Monday. As well as savoring the moment.
"It's Lord Stanley's Cup, man," Hilliard exalted. "You can't beat it."
-- Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or msullivan@nctimes.com.
Ellie
By: MIKE SULLIVAN - Staff Writer
CAMP PENDLETON -- Delbert Hilliard admired the shiny silver trophy from about 20 feet away on Monday before maneuvering forward for a close-up look. When the opportunity arose, the 29-year-old staff sergeant, sporting camouflage Marine attire, approached the table and posed with the famed Stanley Cup.
Then in a scene repeated often during the hockey trophy's 90-minute appearance at Camp Pendleton, Hilliard shrieked with joy. He was ecstatic to have put his hands on the glittering three-foot-high, 35-pound trophy that was first awarded in 1893.
"I've touched the Cup," Hilliard said. "You can't beat it. It's the Stanley Cup. How many people can say they touched it?"
A long steady line of Camp Pendleton marines and base residents were added to the list on a sun-baked afternoon as three key players of the National Hockey League champion Anaheim Ducks accompanied the Stanley Cup to Camp Pendleton.
Scott Niedermayer, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the postseason's Most Valuable Player, and teammates Dustin Penner and Chris Kunitz toured the base and later signed autographs and posed for pictures.
The Ducks became the first team from California to win the Stanley Cup earlier this month by defeating Ottawa 4-1 in the best-of-seven series. The organization is showing off the Stanley Cup -- the name comes from Lord Frederick Stanley, who donated the cup 114 years ago -- at various locations around Southern California.
"To be able to bring the Stanley Cup to California for the first time is a pretty special thing so it's been a fun two weeks," Niedermayer said. "Then to get an opportunity to see how things work out here is a great experience for us. It's nice to see the hockey fans here to get a picture and see the Stanley Cup."
While people touched, tilted and even kissed the Cup, Mike Bolt of the Hockey Hall of Fame stood in the distance, keeping a close eye on the festivities.
Bolt's job is to protect the Stanley Cup and he estimates he's on the road with the Cup over 300 days a year.
Occasionally, Bolt has to caution someone from being a bit overzealous.
"Sometimes fans get a little excited, which you can understand," Bolt said. "They want to lift it like the players and I explain to the fan that you have to earn the right.
"No lifting the cup. You have to go out and win it."
The tradition of the Stanley Cup calls for each player on the winning team to have it for a 24-hour time period. The players' schedule with the Cup is currently being finalized and Bolt will be along for every step of the travels.
The Cup has already been making the rounds since Anaheim won it 13 days ago. The Ducks took the Cup on a cruise up the Southern California coast last weekend, stopping at various watering holes along the shore to show it off.
It also went to some Orange County hospitals and four of the team's star players -- goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, defensemen Chris Pronger and Niedermayer, plus Niedermayer's younger brother, Rob, a center -- showed it off to neighbors at dinners or parties.
Anaheim defenseman Sean O'Donnell filled the top of the Cup with dog food so his black Labrador retriever, Buddy, could eat from it. Buddy's not the first animal to eat from the Cup -- Ed Olczyk of the New York Rangers fed Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin from the Cup in 1994.
Other odd things done with the Stanley Cup in recent years include Detroit's Steve Yzerman showering with the Cup and Colorado's Sylvain Lefebvre getting his daughter baptized in it. Numerous other players have slept with it.
Later this week, the Stanley Cup will be on display in Columbus, Ohio, in conjunction with the NHL Draft before resuming its stay with the Ducks. So far, the players say the trophy has been well received by Southern Californians.
"Do as many people down here understand the history as they do in Toronto or Vancouver? No, and I understand that," Niedermayer said. "But there are people that love their hockey and know a lot about hockey down here. Are they the majority? No. But they are great fans and give great support."
Both Niedermayer (Cranbrook, British Columbia) and Penner said they plan to take the Stanley Cup to their Canadian hometowns when they get their 24 hours with the Cup. Niedermayer figures he'll host a barbecue to show it off while Penner just wants to socialize with it.
"I'm from the small farming community of Winkler (Manitoba) and it just became a city last summer," Penner said. "I'm going to bring it back there and hang out with some friends and then take it up to the big city in Winnipeg and just hang out with it."
Hanging out with it is exactly what the assembled hockey fans at Camp Pendleton were doing Monday. As well as savoring the moment.
"It's Lord Stanley's Cup, man," Hilliard exalted. "You can't beat it."
-- Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or msullivan@nctimes.com.
Ellie