Carolina Hurricanes captain was greeted by hundreds of fans eager to get a picture with him and the Stanley Cup

THUNDER BAY – Seventeen years after he first brought the Stanley Cup home to Thunder Bay, Jordan Staal had a second chance to share the cherished trophy with hundreds of people in his home town.

Staal, the 37-year-old captain of the Carolina Hurricanes, on Saturday welcomed fans from as far away as Edmonton, posing for pictures for more than two hours with the Cup, the line of people waiting for their chance snaking down Paul Shaffer Drive, along Winnipeg Avenue and into the parking lot between the host Thunder Bay Community Auditorium and the Canada Games Complex.

“It’s pretty wild,” Staal said, comparing his first Cup win, in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, to this year’s triumph.

“There are some distant memories that are coming back now, even talking with you guys right now. It felt like yesterday sometimes, but it was quite the ride, obviously a lot of work and to be able to push through all the ups and downs and be able to pull it off again and be able to bring (the Cup) back home and share it with everyone, it’s an incredible feeling.”

Staal also brought the Conn Smythe Trophy to the Auditorium event, winning the playoff MVP award after scoring goals in the first five games of the Stanley Cup final, the first player to accomplish the feat in 70 years.

Grinding out another win, nearly two decades after his first NHL championship, wasn’t easy at his age, Staal admitted.

But he has no plans to hang up his skates just yet. 

“I’m just going one year at a time and giving it my all. Obviously, the body has held up and I’m fortunate with injuries and stuff. I’ve been blessed with that. I’m just working hard and making sure I can give everything I have and everything’s still moving. “

Unlike 2009, when Penguins captain Sidney Crosby took the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, in 2026 it was Staal who got the honour.

It still gives him goosebumps thinking about the moment.

“Obviously the first one was incredible, but to be able to go out there and grab it for our team and to be able to pass it off to the group and just to be able to share it – bring the Cup up there, grabbing it was incredible,” Staal said.

Winning the Cup and the Conn Smythe weren’t the only milestones for Staal in 2025-26. He passed the 300-goal mark and his first-20-goal season since 2016 gave him 318 in his career. He also topped the 1,400-game mark.

Despite the accolades, he was still a little surprised to see so many people lining up for a chance to meet him and take a quick photo.

“What an incredible showing. I’m excited to see as many people as I can and be able to share it,” said Staal, who earlier in the day brought the Cup to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

“It takes an army to win that thing and I know I had Thunder Bay behind by back too. You could feel the support from everyone.”

Among the crowd was 10-year-old Jack McCallum, who was bubbling over after his turn arrived.

“Just getting to see it is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like that before,” the youngster said. “It’s amazing, just joy throughout your body. I’m just really happy.”

Bill Kerr, visiting from Alberta, said it was a cool surprise.

“It’s awesome. We came for a visit from Edmonton, so it’s great to be here.”

Nineteen-year-old Logan Kerr was equally impressed.

“It’s a dream come true. It’s amazing getting to see it and meeting Jordan Staal.”

Finally, 16-year-old Kaitlyn Kerr said she couldn’t believe the opportunity. 

“It’s very surreal. It’s a lot bigger than I thought,” she said.