Lord Stanley’s Cup arrives for Hockey Day in Canada in Kamloops

SUN PEAKS – Lord Stanley’s Cup arrived by skis as Hockey Day in Canada kicked off at Sun Peaks Resort last night.

CBC personality Ron MacLean hosted the event, Feb. 3, as retired hockey stars shared memories of junior hockey on stage and mingled with locals.

“Welcome back to Kamloops myself,” former Blazer Darcy Tucker shouted to the crowd.

“I couldn’t ask for a better place to come,” former Canucks captain Trevor Linden said.

Live music preceded the arrival of the cup, which came down the hill to huge cheers from the crowd, and trailed by skiers carrying red lights.

It arrived on stage to be hoisted by three Stanley Cup winners: Lanny McDonald, Mark Napier and Bryan Trottier.

Napier, also director of the NHL Alumni Association, said it’s great to be here and share hockey with the community.

“We used to play a pretty good brand of hockey, not so good any more, which you might see in the Alumni game tomorrow,” Napier said. “Lanny’s still pretty good but the rest of us have slowed down a bit.”

Olympic gold medalist and hockey commentator Cassie Campbell said Kamloops reminds her a lot of her home in Calgary.

“It’s like Calgary where I live, you have Calgary down in the foothills and then Banff or Sun Peaks, in the mountains,” Campbell says. “Very similar to home and nice people, Canadians, so you know your going to have a good time.”

She also sees her participation with Hockey Day in Canada as a chance to encourage women’s hockey.

“For me, being here, I hope that some young girl sees me or meets me and wants to pick up a stick and play the game,” she says.

The festivities wrapped up with a chance for the public to have their photo taken with the Stanley Cup.

Hockey Day in Canada events continue in Kamloops today, with the Staley Cup visiting local schools, a hockey celebrity lunch and a WHL alumni game this evening featuring Mark Recchi and Tucker as team captains.

Tomorrow there’s a breakfast event with the cup at the tournament Capital Centre and in the evening MacLean hosts a musical tribute to hockey at the Sandman Centre.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Brendan Kergin at bkergin@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.