A crowd of close to 600 people were gathered at Western Financial Place on Tuesday, Aug 16, patiently awaiting the arrival of NHL champion Bowen Byram and the Stanley Cup.
Byram brought the Stanley Cup to his hometown to celebrate with friends and family, while also attending a photo-op with the general public.
Byram won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche on June 26, when Colorado defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Avalanche defenceman says itsa国际传媒檚 a sa国际传媒済reat feelingsa国际传媒� to bring the cup to his hometown sa国际传媒� this being the ninth occasion the cup has visited.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a lot of fun [to be home],sa国际传媒� Byram said at the photo-op on Tuesday. sa国际传媒淕rowing up and playing minor hockey here sa国际传媒� itsa国际传媒檚 special to have it here and that people in the community get to see it and [I can] chat with some people. Itsa国际传媒檚 been a fun day so far.
sa国际传媒淚n small towns there are a lot of people who help out with minor hockey. I had a lot of good coaches growing up sa国际传媒� just very fortunate to grow up in Cranbrook in such a rich hockey environment.sa国际传媒�
Byram himself is Cranbrooksa国际传媒檚 fifth Stanley Cup winner, joining the company of past winners Scott and Rob Niedermayer, Brad Lukowych and Jon Klemm.
sa国际传媒淭o bring the cup back home is a really special experience and Isa国际传媒檓 very grateful that I got to have it this early on in my career,sa国际传媒� Byram said. sa国际传媒淵ou never know, maybe Isa国际传媒檒l be lucky enough to do it a couple more times.sa国际传媒�
Byram says he was fortunate to get drafted by the Colorado Avalanche and that winning the Stanley Cup is a dream come true.
sa国际传媒淚 definitely knew I was fortunate to get drafted by the Avs sa国际传媒� they already had a really solid team,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭hey got the pick for me from Ottawa. They made the playoffs that year, and made it to the second round, so I knew I was going to have a chance. Obviously, you never really know sa国际传媒� a lot of good teams donsa国际传媒檛 ever win the Stanley Cup. Growing up you always want to be a Stanley Cup Champion and now that I am, itsa国际传媒檚 kind of hard to describe.sa国际传媒�
Byram had an adverse start to his NHL career, missing almost three months and a string of 32 games because of concussion symptoms. Despite this, he overcame the injuries and proved to be a key contributor on the Avalanche team.
sa国际传媒淚t was a frustrating couple years, I guess, not playing as many games as I would have liked due to injuries and other things. But I think it was honestly a positive for me to go through that early in my career,sa国际传媒� Byram said. sa国际传媒淵ou know, itsa国际传媒檚 never easy to come back from injuries so I was very fortunate to come back and have a spot in the lineup again. I just tried to contribute any way I could in the playoffs.sa国际传媒�
When asked how it feels to lift the Stanley Cup in the air right after the victory, Byram said itsa国际传媒檚 hard to describe.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a special feeling, itsa国际传媒檚 hard to describe to people. Yousa国际传媒檝e just gone through a really tough couple months and to finally get there itsa国际传媒檚 almost relief, in some way. Theresa国际传媒檚 a lot of stress and anxiety, whatever you want to call it, throughout the playoffs and throughout the year. Especially when yousa国际传媒檙e on a team that has a lot of buzz about it. We were cup favourites going into the year sa国际传媒� so itsa国际传媒檚 a relief but itsa国际传媒檚 also very exciting. Itsa国际传媒檚 hard to put into words.sa国际传媒�
He adds that overall it was a great year with many highlights throughout the playoff season.
sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 a lot [of highlights]. I can think of a lot of moments through the playoffs,sa国际传媒� he said with a laugh. sa国际传媒淟ooking back now, you really wish you could have soaked it in a bit more, but theresa国际传媒檚 so much going on that it kind of just flashes by.sa国际传媒�
Following his photo-op with the community, Byram says he will celebrate with the Stanley Cup alongside his family and friends before the cup moves on to another player.
