Photos: Surprise Stanley Cup visit delights Calgary hockey fans
Calgary's own and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar poses for photos with the Stanley Cup and Tomas Sanchez along the banks of the Bow River in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
Although Calgarians were denied the cup during a heated playoff run, the Stanley Cup nevertheless made its way to the city on Tuesday.
And although a few fans would have preferred it to have been skated around the Saddledome, being paraded up the Bow River in a Calgary Fire Department fire rescue boat proved to be the second best option.
Colorado Avalanche player and Calgary’s own Cale Makar, alongside teammate Logan O’Connor brought the cup to Eau Claire Park and the Peace Bridge, before ferrying it up river to Edworthy Park. The cup visit was announced as a surprise on Cale Makar’s social media on Tuesday afternoon.
“We got to touch it, so it was pretty sick,” said Tomas Sanchez, who was wearing his Quebec Nordiques jersey for the occasion.
“I mean, I guess we’re not winning the cup now, but I got a picture with [Cale Makar] so it was pretty cool experience,” he said.
The Nordiques moved from Quebec City to Colorado in 1995.
Dominic Ferreira said that getting to see the cup in person was a different feeling than seeing it on TV.
“When you see the players in person, it’s like a different feeling, especially when you see someone like Cale Makar,” he said.
“He’s literally like an idol to me.”
Sanchez laughed when asked if he would have rather seen the cup come up river in a raft instead of on a Fire Department rescue boat.
“That would have made it even better, but then we’d probably wouldn’t have got to see him,” he said.
Photos from the Stanley Cup visit to Calgary
Calgarians stood waiting at the shores of the Bow River for the Stanley Cup, not knowing the direction it was coming from in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYCalgary’s own and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar holds the Stanley Cup for kids to touch along the banks of the Bow River in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYCalgary’s own and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar poses for photos with the Stanley Cup and Tomas Sanchez along the banks of the Bow River in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYMembers of the media and the public gather around a Calgary Fire Department river rescue boat with Colorado Avalanche players Cale Makar and Logan O’Connor holding the Stanley Cup in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYColorado Avalanche players Cale Makar and Logan O’Connor put their jerseys over their PFDs before departing onto the Bow River with the Stanley Cup in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThe Stanley Cup is held by Colorado Avalanche players Cale Makar and Logan O’Connor along Eau Claire Park in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. The Calgary Fire Department river rescue firefighters ferried the NHL stars with the cup up the Bow River starting at the Peace Bridge. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYOne last selfie with the Stanley Cup before departing on the Bow River in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThe Stanley Cup is held by Colorado Avalanche players Cale Makar and Logan O’Connor along Eau Claire Park in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. The Calgary Fire Department river rescue firefighters ferried the NHL stars with the cup up the Bow River starting at the Peace Bridge. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThe Stanley Cup is held by Colorado Avalanche players Cale Makar and Logan O’Connor along Eau Claire Park in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. The Calgary Fire Department river rescue firefighters ferried the NHL stars with the cup up the Bow River starting at the Peace Bridge. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThe Stanley Cup is held by Colorado Avalanche players Cale Makar and Logan O’Connor along Eau Claire Park in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. The Calgary Fire Department river rescue firefighters ferried the NHL stars with the cup up the Bow River starting at the Peace Bridge. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARYThe Stanley Cup makes it way upriver from the Peace Bridge to Edworthy Park in Calgary on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. ARYN TOOMBS / FOR LIVEWIRE CALGARY
