SUNRISE – We will celebrate Quebec National Day another time! Here I am in Florida for the seventh and final game of the Stanley Cup Final! What a privilege!
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When the boss’s call came last week, I immediately felt a surge of excitement, even though the assignment remained uncertain. The valiant colleague Jonathan Bernier was in Edmonton for the sixth game, then, following a third consecutive victory for the Oilers, and he must soon head to Las Vegas for the famous National Hockey League (NHL) draft. ).
Result: I was taken out of the bullpen with the presentation of a game number 7. It goes without saying that I followed closely, Friday evening, the evolution of the score during the sixth game. At 3-0 after two periods, I started to believe it.
Extremely lucky
A seventh game of the Stanley Cup final is the dream of every young hockey player, who obviously imagines scoring the winning goal in overtime.
Personally, I never really played hockey. The defunct Big Pocket League doesn’t count… And even if my interest in baseball has always taken over, I can’t help but consider myself extremely lucky to have the opportunity, as a journalist sportsman, to ensure coverage of such an event. I also dreamed about it, in a way. Recognition and gratitude.
Emotion in sight!
Monday evening, the magnificent Stanley Cup, possibly the most beautiful trophy in the world, will inevitably have been lifted before my eyes! Perhaps even by one of the greatest players in NHL history, Oilers captain Connor McDavid.
Connor McDavid, captain of the Edmonton Oilers.
Photo Codie McLachlan/Getty Images via AFP
Regardless of the winners, we’re talking about pure emotion on the ice at Amerant Bank Arena. Having now been practicing the profession of sports journalist for a little over 20 years (I started very young), I have not experienced the glorious years of the Montreal Canadiens.
This time, the characters are not Patrick Roy, Vincent Damphousse, Kirk Muller, Éric Desjardins or Paul DiPietro, but the event will be as magical as in 1993 for the winning team. I will do my best to bring you the best stories from Florida! Such an assignment obviously comes with great responsibilities.
Another championship
On a personal note, this is a third championship in professional sport since last September. After the triumph of the Quebec Capitals, in Indiana, I fully experienced the conquest of the Gray Cup by the Montreal Alouettes in November.
Already, after these two conquests, a friend joked to me that I was a lucky charm for the Quebec teams and that Geoff Molson must be about to call for Newspaperso that I am more often assigned to the cover of the Canadian. Obviously, it will rather be Nick Suzuki, Colle Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, among others, who will decide the fate of the Habs in the coming years.
Many remained hopeful that the Oilers would bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada… To be completely transparent, I had no clear preference heading into the game. While Edmonton is experiencing great emotions, I will celebrate Quebec’s National Day another year. I’m not complaining about it.
