Wednesday was a special day in Tampere as Aleksander Barkov and the other Finnish members of the Florida Panthers – Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell, Niko Mikkola and assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu – brought the Stanley Cup to town, put it on full display at various events around the city, and then brought it to a big evening celebration at Nokia Arena.
“It’s been a busy day,” Barkov told FloridaHockeyNow on Wednesday afternoon. “I picked (the Stanley Cup) up this morning from the Helsinki airport – that’s like an hour and a half away – then went back home to my summer place, took some pictures with my family, ate some food from it, then went to an amusement park with it. There was a whole crowd of kids there waiting to see the Cup and get some pictures.”
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE8OlNi6aGE[/embed]
“Now we're at the arena, hopefully it’s gonna be packed,” he continued. “There'll be a lot of kids here as well and hopefully it's gonna be fun for them.”
The event was attended by many Finnish celebrities, including President Alexander Stubb, while others who were unable to attend sent video messages that were played in the arena. Video messages came from Finnish rallly driver Kalle Rovanperä, cross-country skiier Iivo Niskanen, golfer Sami Välimäki, and hockey players Kimmo Timonen, Mikko Rantanen, Patrik Laine, Olli Jokinen, Artturi Lehkonen and Teuvo Teräväinen.
Watch the event courtesy MTV Uutiset.
Three messages also came in English from North American hockey legends and Stanley Cup champions Mario Lemieux, Chris Chelios and Wayne Gretzky – all getting favorable reactions from the crowd.
“Alex, I would like to congratulate you on an amazing year and of course on a great playoff run,” said Lemieux. “Winning the Stanley Cup is something very, very special and very difficult, but you guys did it, you played great, and I’m sure there are a lot of proud people in Finland with you there tonight.”
Chelios was in Greece when he filmed his message, stating, “You’ve gotta be proud of where you’re from.” He then added, “Congrats on winning the Stanley Cup. It’s quite an honor to be the first Finnish captain to ever win it. I was cheering for you – it turned into a ‘Canadian against American’ thing but, again, I hope you enjoy the parties and festivities with your friends and family, and I’m sure all of Finland is really proud of you.”
“I had the privilege of playing with two great Finns, Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen,” said Gretzky. “Alex, I congratulate you on winning the Stanley Cup as the first Finnish captain. You have done your country, the state of Florida, and your team proud.”
After the celebration in Finland, the Stanley Cup now moves to Sweden, where receptions await for Oliver Ekman Larsson on Thursday in Tingsryd, Gustav Forsling on Friday in Linköping and Kevin Stenlund on Saturday in Tumba.
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