Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov enjoyed one heck of a day in his hometown on Wednesday.
Barkov was granted his 24 hours with the Stanley Cup and he shared it with friends, family and fans in Tampere, Finland.
For at least one day, the town was transformed to Barkov City.
Barkov started his day bright and early, picking up the Cup from the airport in Helsinki, which is about a 90 minute drive.
Photos and videos of the celebratory day have been popping up on social media, with many showing the big party held at Nokia Arena, where Barkov and the Panthers will play the Dallas Stars in three months.
Thousands upon thousands of fans packed the arena, cheering for Barkov and his Finnish teammates, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola, who joined their captain on stage.
Also in attendance were former teammates Jussi Jokinen and Markus Nutivarra.
Additionally, hockey legends Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were among those to send in special congratulatory video messages during the party at the rink.
Earlier in the day, Barkov brought the Cup to the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame, which is located in Tampere.
Barkov also helped make a little Stanley Cup history when he brought Finnish skateboarding pro Marius Syvanen to do something that had never been done before.
With Keeper of the Cup Phil Pritchard keeping close watch, Syvanen jumped over the Cup, which is just over 35-inches tall, while riding his skateboard.
Barkov, who also took the Stanley Cup to an amusement park, told NHL.com that he wanted to make sure and include youngsters and junior players when he brought the historic trophy back to where he grew up.
“I myself was once a junior player, and the Cup motivated me,” Barkov said, per NHL.com. “Every morning, the first thought in my mind was the Cup. I believe that many juniors here today think about the Cup. I want to show them that everything is possible.”
Coming up for the Stanley Cup this week will be a trip to Sweden for its day with Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling.
It will be back in Finland next week, spending the day with Anton Lundell in Helsinki.
LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS – FLORIDA
Redemption Rewind: Panthers exorcise demons, make quick work of Tampa Bay in Round 1
Panthers Stanley Cup Champion wine bottles showing up on South Florida store shelves
Ryan Lomberg talks Stanley Cup celebrations, viral pregame message to Panthers teammates
A memorable weekend: Carter Verhaeghe has Swaggy wedding, Sam Reinhart golfs with Stanley Cup
Source Agencies
