- Jackson Blake brought the Stanley Cup home to Eden Prairie, Minnesota on Thursday
- Fans started lining up outside the community center hours before the doors opened
- Read below for what Blake said about the state title he won on that same ice
Jackson Blake brought the Stanley Cup home to Eden Prairie on Thursday, and the line to see it started forming hours before anyone opened a door.
About 1,300 people snaked around the outside of the Eden Prairie Community Center in the Minnesota summer heat for the two-hour public event, per Heather Rule of NHL.com. The Hurricanes forward stood next to the trophy under a balloon arch and posed with every one of them.
Standing in the lobby afterward, Blake talked about what the morning did to him.
“It’s crazy. You don’t really realize how cool it is until you get to actually do it and have the day,” Blake said. “A lot of expectations and stuff, and you dream of doing this. To have all these people here and my family and everyone, it’s really special.”
Here’s Blake with the Cup and his dad, Jason:
Jason played 871 NHL games and never got to play for a Cup. He showed up in a white “Canes Cup Champions” shirt with a graphic of his son lifting the thing, the same one he watched Jackson hoist in June.
The building matters as much as the trophy. Blake played youth and high school hockey in Eden Prairie and scored the overtime winner in the 2021 Class 2A state championship game.
That habit followed him around. He scored the Clark Cup winner with the Chicago Steel in the USHL, then the overtime goal that sent Carolina to the Eastern Conference Final this spring.
He was also asked how the state title stacks up against a Stanley Cup.
“I still hang out with my buddies who were on that (state title) team,” Blake said. “They’re both really special moments and good memories to have.”
Take a look at what the morning rush looked like from the other side of the rope:
Blake turns 23 on Aug. 3. He put up 53 points (22 goals, 31 assists) in 81 games last season on an eight-year contract he signed with Carolina in July 2025.
Minnesota gets another look at the Cup this week. K’Andre Miller, who played high school hockey at nearby Minnetonka, is expected to bring it to the Pagel Activity Center on Saturday.
