- Andrei Svechnikov took the Stanley Cup to North Carolina Children’s Hospital in Chapel Hill
- Patients met the trophy in their Canes gear, one of them from a hospital bed on his 15th birthday
- Read below for the photos and the rest of Svechnikov’s day with the Cup
Andrei Svechnikov spent a chunk of his day with the Stanley Cup in the place where it does the most good.
The Hurricanes winger wheeled hockey’s most famous trophy through North Carolina Children’s Hospital in Chapel Hill, going room to room so patients could get their hands on it. Phil Pritchard, the Hockey Hall of Fame vice president known to everyone as the Keeper of the Cup, posted the photos Saturday:
A lot of the kids were ready for him. Several had already pulled on Canes jerseys and hats before he walked in, and one of them turned 15 that day, celebrating in a hospital bed with the Cup parked beside him and a birthday sign taped to the wall.
His day with the trophy came Friday. Pritchard shared more of it on Instagram, including Svechnikov pressing the Cup over his head for fans who came out to see it around Raleigh:
He and girlfriend Summer Jacobs drank out of it later on, which is what everybody does eventually, per NHL.com.
Carolina has leaned hard into hospital stops all summer. Jordan Staal brought the Cup to a pediatric unit in Thunder Bay, Seth Jarvis took it to a children’s hospital in Winnipeg, and Sean Walker did the same at a pediatric hospital in Ontario.
Other Canes have gone a different route with their 24 hours. Eric Robinson handed the Cup to Guy Gaudreau at a rink in New Jersey, and Jaccob Slavin turned his day into a fundraiser for a friend.
Svechnikov earned the visit. The second pick of the 2018 draft put up 70 points (31 goals, 39 assists) in 79 games last season, then added 11 points in 19 playoff games while Carolina ripped off a 16-3 run to the second championship in franchise history.
Half the Hurricanes roster has walked the Cup into a hospital this summer. The stop in Chapel Hill might be the one those kids talk about the longest.
