Monday Evening News - Part 1 of 3

So, I took another lazy weekend off to help prepare myself for the next 8 months blogging in the regular season and of course are next Stanley Cup victory.  Because of that their is a backlog of news.  I will breakup today's post into three section.  The first section will be Stanley Cup related, the second will be focused on the Rookie camp and the third will focus on general news and the Selanne/Niedermayer retirement watch.  So thanks for checking in and here is the latest news.

Ryan Shannon, George Parros and Mike Hartigan are the subject of the latest Stanley Cup Journal update.

Ryan Shannon

First thing that morning, Ryan and his girlfriend Jessica took the Stanley Cup to the local police station, and then headed over to Body Tuning, the gym at which Ryan works out during the summer.

By 10:30, the Stanley Cup was at the Darien Ice Rink, where Ryan spent more than a few hours through the years honing his on-ice craft. Waiting there were 2,000 fans, waiting excitedly to meet Ryan and make a donation so they could get their picture taken with the Stanley Cup. Monies raised went to the Obie Harrington-Howes Foundation, benefiting people in Connecticut living with spinal cord injuries. Harrington-Howes was Ryan's first hockey coach, and was paralyzed in 1997 after a swimming accident at Jones Beach in New York. The morning of autographs and photographs raised almost $6,000 for the foundation. "He (Obie) was my first house league coach," said Shannon. "When something like that happened to him, it was a tragedy, but he's still the same happy guy. He's always smiling and always encouraging people. I want nothing more than to be a role model myself just like that."

By 1:00PM, the Stanley Cup was in the Shannons' backyard, continuing the celebration. Although inclement weather threatened the party, it didn't dampen Shannon's spirit. "Nothing's going to ruin my day today!"

George Parros

With the fun continuing, George and his family took the Stanley Cup by private plane to the family farm in Washington, Pennsylvania, a city just outside Pittsburgh. Several hundred were on hand for a pig roast that featured the presence of the Stanley Cup.

Besides freshly-cooked pork and ribs so good that the juices dripped off your elbows, the feast included beans, coleslaw, cakes and pastries, all watered down with champagne and (gulp) moonshine.

George devised a plan to get the Stanley Cup into the barn so that the celebration could be a little more private. He smuggled the Cup through the house, down into the cellar, through a long, dark tunnel that extended past the back of the house and ended in the barn. Ten people, carefully selected, were waiting for George to arrive so that they could party with the Stanley Cup. The barn was filled with hay and bats, not so carefully selected, that would flutter by occasionally, scaring the cluck out of George and his friends. It wasn't long before most of the people at the pig roast had converged on the barn to see why there were extraneous hoops and hollers emanating from the supposedly empty structure.

At 2:30, a giant bonfire added a golden glint to one side of the Stanley Cup. The Parros party concluded at 4:45.

Mike Hartigan

As if there isn't enough pressure on a young player to be participating in his first-ever Stanley Cup playoffs, Mark Hartigan had the further burden of knowing his mother had suffered a relapse in her battle with cancer. Mark's Mom, Debbie, died during the Ducks' successful path to the Stanley Cup, and Mark flew home to be with his family during the first round of the playoffs. Although he spent only six games with Anaheim during the regular season, and added one more in the playoffs, Hartigan was next to celebrate with the Stanley Cup, taking it to Fort McMurray, Alberta on Saturday, August 25.

 

Mark's brother Colin hosted the Hartigan celebration at his home. After food and drinks, accompanied by many emotional toasts, the gang boarded a bus that embarked on a tour of some of the area's businesses that had meaning to Mark.

First stop was the firehall, followed by a visit to Robert Vargo at Alberta Motors, the area's largest General Motors dealership. Mark visited patients at the hospital, then stopped at the Dugout Coffee House and Youth Centre. Finally, Hartigan carried the Stanley Cup into the Thickwood Arena to show those on hand. A ball hockey tournament was in full swing, so Mark offered a photo of the winning team with the Stanley Cup, which promptly turned up the tempo several additional notches.

To wind down a busy but wonderful day, the bus took the Hartigan party back to Colin's home to settle into an all-night party for family and friends. Although the celebrating was special, the most extraordinary moments may have been a reflective time when Mark and his family took time to study the engraved names on the Stanley Cup — Taylor, Morenz, Broda, Howe, Richard, Mahovlich, Orr, Clarke, Dryden — knowing full well that within weeks, the name 'Hartigan' was going to be added to the Stanley Cup's legacy.

Read the rest of the article at the Stanley Cup Journal - Link

 

The Cup Keepers Photoblog was updated

See the rest here - Link

Colgate University Updated their flickr account with one more Andymac photo

The Stanley Cup showed up at Morton's in Costa Mesa

The Stanley Cup Visits Newport (Beach) Sports Musuem

Thanks to members of the official Ducks message board for this pointer.  Here is the description of the event from their website.

The Newport Sports Museum will be hosting Lord Stanley's Cup on Friday, September 14th from 1-3PM.  This event is open to the general public and free of charge, so bring your friends, family and camera and to see the most prestigious trophy in sports before it officially ends its tour for the year!

Housing over 10,000 authentic pieces of sports memorabilia including a Hockey collection to rival that of the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Newport Sports Museum offers the perfect backdrop for the event. In addition to seeing the Stanley Cup in person, sports fans will also be able to enjoy the Museum’s 15 themed rooms featuring artifacts that span the sports world from a baseball room with team signed balls from every World Series champion to a golf room with golf bags carried by five US Presidents.

Make plans now to come out to the Museum on September 14th from 1-3pm to see the Stanley Cup along side thousands of other unique sports treasures.

Get more info about the museum here - Link

That is it for Stanley Cup News, check back in little bit for part 2 of tonight's posts.

Anaheim Ducks News - Friday News

TGIF! Not because of the weekend but because the Stanley Cup Journal is updated with Kent Huskins and Joe DiPenta's day with Cup. George Parros had his day with the Cup today and I've got pics. I also have one more article from Ryan Shannon's day with the cup and the Ducks do good in Oxnard.

Stanley Cup Journal was updated today with Joe and Kent's day with the cup.

Joe DiPenta

The second that Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia is mentioned, hockey fans instaneously think of one person - Joe DiPenta, the first player to take the Stanley Cup there when he arrived with hockey's most cherished prize on Thursday, August 9.

Although born in Barrie, Ontario, DiPenta grew up in Cole Harbour and played his first hockey there. When it came time to make his plans for the Stanley Cup, there was no doubt where Joe was going to take it.

Joe fretted for several days, struggling with sleep as he worried about his day with the Cup. "I just worried that something was going to happen, that the flight was delayed or something and the Cup wouldn't show up on time."

All went as planned. The Stanley Cup arrived in Halifax late on Wednesday, August 8. Halifax International Airport is quite a bit north of the Nova Scotia capital, and it took almost half an hour to drive from the airport.

Kent Huskins

Friday, August 10 belonged to Kent Huskins, the Ducks' young rookie defenseman who hails from Almonte, Ontario, a historic town not far from Ottawa. Almonte is best known as the birthplace of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, but after Kent made his NHL debut with the Ducks this season, Almonte became much more of a hockey town. Kent contributed to Anaheim's Stanley Cup victory over the Senators, much to the dismay of the local fans from Ottawa.

Handed the Stanley Cup at 10:30 that morning, Huskins took the trophy to his parents' home where professional photographs were taken. Kent's mother Bonnie and father Les couldn't have been more excited for their son.

A public celebration was scheduled next, so Kent took Lord Stanley's legacy to an area where a tent had been erected in the field behind Almonte's Civitan Hall. Kent witnessed an incredible turn-out, as he shared the Cup with almost 1,500 fans during the memorable afternoon. While there, Huskins spent time with a local sledge hockey team and a minor hockey team.

Read the rest here - Link

The Cup Keepers photoblog was updated as well. Here is a sample:

See the rest here - Link

George Parros had his day with the Cup today. Here is an article

Former Randolph resident and current NHL defenseman George Parros brought the Stanley Cup to Delbarton this morning, displaying the trophy to old friends, faculty members and current students.

Parros, a former Delbarton hockey star who won the Stanley Cup this past season with the Anaheim Ducks, posed for pictures and signed autographs for two hours at his former alma mater.

Each member of a team that wins a Stanley Cup is given one full day to spend with the trophy and is permitted to with it whatever he wishes. Parros, now 28, made his Delbarton his first stop on a day long journey that includes appearances at Princeton University, from where he graduated in 2003, and in Pennsylvania.

“The best part of this is being able to come back and see people I haven’t seen in a long time,” Parros said. “And to have this with me is something special.”

Read the original here, but I posted it all because it was so short - Link

George Parros Stanley Cup Day pictures via Robr3004 at Flickr.

See the rest here - Link

The Anaheim Ducks do some good:

About a month ago, Oxnard Ice Center President Mike Paikin said the rink was going to close because of financial problems. Paikin of Sherman Oaks suggested then that the clubs could buy the business.

Both groups marshaled forces and surpassed their fundraising goal of $120,000 as of last weekend, Meaney said. Donations came from around the country, including a substantial contribution from the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks.

Read the whole article here - Link

One more Ryan Shannon Article with picture:

DARIEN - Ryan Shannon had a good year.
The 24-year-old Darien native was called up by the NHL's Anaheim Ducks last year after an impressive preseason, and he notched 2 goals and 9 assists during the regular season. But that was just the beginning.

"I went from playing in a minor league team, and then, in October, I found myself playing on an NHL team," Shannon said. "That was a dream come true. Then, to score my first NHL goal, that was unbelievable.

"I never thought it would get any better than that," he said.
But it did - Shannon and the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in June, and, as is tradition with NHL champions, each team member was given 24 hours with the storied trophy. Shannon spent his day with Lord Stanley's Cup yesterday.

Anaheim Ducks News -Ryan Shannon Stanley Cup Day

Thanks to the folks at Allducks.com for the heads up on this link to an article on Ryan's day with the cup.

The procession was non-stop, for almost two hours as hockey fans from town and afar flocked to have their picture taken with the Stanley Cup, and to have the man who won it with the Anaheim Ducks last season, sign sticks and shirts, and just about anything else.

It all happened at the Darien Ice Rink beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 23, when Ryan Shannon, 24 of Darien, arrived and raised the famous trophy before a group of hundreds lined up to enter the rink for the event, and then headed inside to get it all started, in what was an electric, if understated moment marked by the humble NHL pro.

From there, it was smiles — miles of smiles it seemed — all around, with the throngs winding their way from the front doors, looped around the rink on the outside, and back into the rink out on to the ice where the Cup and Shannon were set up. It was a marathon signing ceremony put on by Darien’s one and only Cup winner ever, and only third Cup winner in the state all time.

Read the rest here - Link

Stanley Cup Schedule for 8/19 - 8/25

Well thanks again to the OC Register print edition for this weeks weeks schedule for the Stanley Cup. I can not link directly to the page so I will give them a plug. You can subscribe to the electronic version of their paper here - Link

1. Dave Farrish, asst. coach, today - Lucknow, Ontario

2. Ryan Shannon, Thursday - Darien, Connecticu

3. George Parros, Friday Princeton, New Jersey

4. Mark Hartigan, Saturday Edmonton, Alberta

According to the same article "There still are two weeks left in the trek, and seven members of the organization are awaiting their 24 hours (or more) with the Cup."

I will post links to articles covering their respective days with the cup as I find them.