Winning the Stanley Cup was a moment of delayed joy for Troy Parchman. Months later, the joy endures.
Parchman, the Chicago Blackhawks equipment manager, shared that joy when he brought the cup home to Moose Jaw Monday.
Parchman said the best part of the Stanley Cup experience is “just seeing the fans and how happy everybody is. It’s just crazy in Chicago. We had two million people at the parade.”
The throng at Connor Park was closer to two thousand as fans gathered to get their picture taken with the cup Monday. As close as the fans got to Lord Stanley’s mug, few dared break with tradition and actually touch the chalice without having won it first.
Seeing the smiles on the fan’s faces in his hometown took Parchman back that night in Philadelphia when the Blackhawks won it in June.
“When you see that picture of the players on the ice right after the game with the Stanley Cup, if you look at their faces — really look at their faces — that’s pure joy. I guarantee you there’s never been a moment in their life when they’ve been happier than at that second,” said Parchman.
“It’s great to be able to share that. To see the players that happy . . . it’s a great experience.”
The experience was also initially overwhelming.
“I was numb. I wasn’t in shock that we won. It was more shock that it was over,” said Parchman who noted that even in the minutes after the game he still had a job to do.
“I was sort of preoccupied too. You win and the player’s equipment goes flying all over the place, so I have to keep an eye on that and the jerseys.”
