43
Stanley Cup’s stop in Youngstown set for Friday
Legendary NHL trophy to be on display Friday
YOUNGSTOWN
If a cup could talk, Lord Stanley would have some stories.
Often labeled as the greatest trophy in professional sports, the Stanley Cup is awarded to the champions of the NHL each season and spends time with the players and coaches of the winning team throughout the year.
Just as the folklore surrounding the Cup’s adventures can often be just that, the process in which the legendary trophy will make a scheduled stop in Youngs-town is just as confounding.
“A little bit easier than probably what you thought,” said Phantoms co-owner Troy Loney. “I made a couple phone calls, got to the right people, laid out the date that we wanted to do it, laid out who we were and what we wanted to do and within 24 hours it was, ‘Yeah, we’re good.’ ”
However, as Loney’s wife Aafke pointed out, there is one other important factor involved in getting time with the Cup.
“You need to be a part of an NHL organization or be a Stanley Cup winner,” she said. “And of course Troy is a Stanley Cup champion, so that helped.”
The two-time Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins chimed in: “Well, that’s not necessarily true,” Troy said. “That’s why I called those guys to get it.
“Really, if you fall into the funnel of development for hockey in the U.S. or Canada, you do qualify for it.
“But I like that Aafke’s promoting me well,” he said with a smile.
Whichever the case, the Stanley Cup will be on display Friday in Youngstown. It’s been to Boardman twice before, but this will be its first stop in the city.
Ingrained with a rich history and by now a seasoned traveler, there are certain things you can and can’t do with the Stanley Cup. For instance, you can promote it for youth hockey and it can be placed around the Phantoms logo, however sponsor logos are not allowed and, in this instance, Loney is the only one that can pick it up.
“That’s the one thing the Hockey Hall of Fame is pretty [stingy] about,” Loney said. “If you’ve won it, you can pick it up, if you haven’t, you’re not allowed to.”
It’s still scheduled for a busy visit, nonetheless. It’s day will start with a sponsor event Friday afternoon, followed by private time with Phantoms season ticket holders.
The Cup will then be displayed inside the Covelli Centre on the concourse shortly before the start of the Phantoms game against Team USA. It will remain there through the first period, before it’s taken up to the suite level. After that, it’s back down on the concourse for the second intermission and will stay there for as long as fans want to take pictures with it.
“We wanted to make sure we optimized our time that we had with it,” Loney said. “We wanted to make sure the people in the community — the youth hockey players, the fans, the media, politicians, our sponsors — had a designated time with it and we were able to do that.”