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Vegas Golden Knights 2023

Stanley Cup Trophy Presentation

By Azeem TajPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
Vegas Golden Knights 2023 Stanley Cup Trophy Presentation

ladies and gentlemen the Stanley Cup [Applause] Bill Foley had the vision the creativity and the audacity to bring the first major league team to Las Vegas and then he said we're going to win the Stanley Cup in six years what has happened here has been simply incredible not only is Vegas a hockey town it's a championship town congratulations to George McPhee Kelly McCrimmon Bruce Cassidy and most important the players on your Vegas golden knights Mark Stone our tradition for this 130 year old trophy it's the presented to the captain all right [Applause] Mark stone hands it off to the original Vegas goal tonight Riley Smith [Applause] count Smythe winner is going to get it next as Marsha so hands it off to another original Vegas golden Knight William Carlson we welcome in the great one our teammate Wayne Gretzky who was presented to Stanley Cup on four different occasions Wayne described the feeling well as an athlete as a hockey player there's no better feeling than the first time you get to lift the Stanley Cup and as you're skating around with the trophy obviously your teammates are a huge part of that the coaches the fans in the city and then you think about your grandparents and maybe the odd uncle or minor league coaches that helped you get there and those are the thoughts that go through your mind that they all are a big part of you lifting that Stanley Cup 2023 Stanley Cup Final well I was just so impressed by both teams I thought both coaches did an amazing job both organizations deserve a lot of credit Florida played their hearts out they just happened to run up against the team that was a little bit bigger a little bit faster had a lot of depth and their goalie ended up playing extremely well they should keep their heads high they played against the machine in the Stanley Cup finals and they lost to a really good Hockey Club [Applause] on air and off here how well Vegas defended the importance of being able to play without the pumpkin pen but don't break at times yeah just the importance of playing that way and eventually winning like you did so many times a year let me tell you something there's no nothing more fun than scoring goals in the National Hockey League we all love to score goals but I said it last year I'll save this year defense wins Stanley Cups when our team learned in Edmonton how to play defense we became Stanley Cup champions Aiko was a machine back there for an offensive player he was always in the right position the right spot and he was their offensive guy that led with a two-way game and that just trickles through the whole Hockey Club they deserve all the credit they're getting they they didn't take a lot of penalties they killed them when they had to defensively they were strong they didn't give up a lot of two-on-ones ultimately it became Stanley Cup champions Wayne you watch Stanley Cups with an all-time great goaltender and Grant Fjord as Jack Eiffel was having a cup from Chandler Stevenson we saw the photos owner of the series he attended your hockey school and now he's a Stanley Cup champion well we can say now that we put through a Stanley Cup champion through our hockey schools right but you know what uh people in this game are so wonderful he's a great example he worked his tail off he didn't give up he was fifth goalie I know we talked a lot about this he was the fifth goalie on the list and he won a Stanley Cup and listen they could have picked one of four or five different guys to win the cons Smite and he was in that mix no question how do you probably played in the first round he might even had a better chance than anybody but listen good for him what a great story and like I said we finally got a gun they went through our hockey score and won a Stanley Cup but listen I wanted to say to Jonesy good luck to you man we're all going to miss you and we know you're gonna do a great job in Philadelphia and I know Mr Snyder's looking down and he knows he got the right guy to do that job good luck to you Jonesy he certainly will thanks Wayne we'll look forward to hearing from you in the gag during the post game it's been great spending the last couple of weeks with you all right guys thank you well thank you very much Mark what did it feel like when you were handed the Stanley Cup by the commissioner unbelievable just looked in my teammates eyes when I got it one of the craziest feelings I've ever had um that's another idea with a 25 30 best friends um makes it that much more special when you're a kid growing up did it match the feelings you dreamed about yeah can't even describe the feelings in my like right now it's [Applause] it's the groin of an 82 Game season four playoff rounds you're grinding you're grinding you're grinding at the end of the day the last team standing it's incredible and not making the playoffs last year and doing what you did this year what can you say about your head coach Bruce Cassidy I mean he came in brought an intensity to our locker room that maybe we needed um and I think he he wanted to win just as bad as everybody else in that Locker in my even see the emotion in his face right now um I don't know what else to say at all everybody that's in those four walls it's amazing go celebrate with your teammates congratulations thank you mayor [Applause] backside out to Jackie with the conspire Trophy winner Jonathan marshasso Jonathan an original six The Vibes are a lot different now than they were in 2018. yeah it was uh we waited a long time for that moment to come back and uh we want to make sure that we uh we cash in our time and I couldn't be more proud of our team our organization we've grind in for a few years and uh [Music] [Applause] it's an 18. so now winning it all and achieving a lifelong dream you know what that's the pain that you you can describe too and that's the feeling that we have right now it's hard to describe I mean that pain was it was tough to be honest it took me almost a couple of months a full year to get over it and uh because they're so close but so far and I mean that time around I I just took a different approach and look where we are right now her team has been unbelievable since the beginning and uh we're we're winners [Applause] season either tied the game or gave Vegas the lead what is it about you that makes you shine when the spotlight is the biggest uh it's one of those things that I just uh you know one night is one guy and one night that's another guy that's that's the mentality we had this year just next minute and has to do the job and we're a bunch of good teammates in our locker room and uh we're always happy for each other and honestly everybody stepped up at different times and that's where today we're winners [Applause] [Music] [Applause] what a postseason for Jonathan marshasso and let's not forget the guy that got it was the clue on that line Kenny with Jack Keitel and Jonathan Marsha so but Ivan Barbershop late season acquisition by general manager Kelly mcrimmon along with Georgia McPhee bringing him in there were eight or ten teams that were all over Ivan Barbershop [Applause] I'm so close in Boston losing in game seven of the St Louis Blues Kelly McCrimmon Bill Foley George McPhee the general manager Kelly mcribbin good to be a team effort here to lift it I think there we go that is awesome and I'm sure George will get it and let's not forget the training staff of all all the teams in a National Hockey League medical equipment the lifeline of the hockey player and assistant coach John Stevens his third Stanley Cup two of La now his first with the Vegas golden knights but the training staff the lifeline of a hockey player and the guys will tell you very huge part of the team concept of winning the most overworked and underpaid play people within the organization is Sean Burke long time NHL goaltender golden coach who talked about the fact that they used five goaltenders during the regular season when I saw him halfway through the season and they were working there I asked them are you next that's how deep it was down let's not forget the scouts the pro Scouts the amateur Scouts the organization win that will be never ever forgotten [Music] on the right the crowd outside they continue to celebrate [Music] back down to the ice Jackie with Aiden Hill Aidan Hill congratulations can you believe it [Laughter] short answer no no it's crazy surreal as it should be you know you've jumped at this moment your whole life you come in halfway through this postseason Run for the golden knights uh how does reality compare to the dream I said I don't know you dream about it every day grow up as crowd so yeah to be here with this group of guys in this city in this building it's oh it's a dream come true the way the guys block shots in front of you in this series because they were just getting in front of everything yeah no it's our commitment to blocking shots all year I mean I heard of our commitment to the defensive Zone has been unbelievable all season and it paid off you know you always seem s cool and Collective Jonathan Marsha solo told me the other day when he goes five hole on you in practice you don't like it so much you care to respond [Music] we'll figure that out later but uh uh he's an awesome guy I love him to death all right congratulations go celebrate with your team yeah thank you thanks send it over to Darren Payne Bruce Cassidy Jackie thank you very much what What feelings are going through you Butchy well listen it's very rewarding but I'm in the club now I'm in the club and I can't kick you out right so that's the way I'm feeling right now I mean you've gone through the trials and tribulations you're hired a year ago tomorrow and you would have Stanley Cup here with these guys how special is it with this group of guys and just really winning it after you know obviously not winning in 19. yeah listen it's a great story very very grateful to get another opportunity to do it great group of guys thankful to George and Bill and Kelly for bringing me on board I'm just here to do my job and it worked out well so I'll tell you it's an unbelievable feeling look at this 20 000 people in here never forget it never forget it the family here comes here and I hope they get out in the ice and hey they're with you every step of the way and there's been some ups and downs along the way so I'm happy for them too they've been they've been awesome they went to Florida and you know they're there to support their dad and can't thank Julian also awesome congrats thank you foreign

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