AMHERST — The idea came to Steve Rich one day in September while he was reading an article.
The article chronicled how the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy awarded annually in the NHL, travels to major cities and small communities around the world for fans to touch and take photos with.
The article explained that at the time the NHL had up to 1,200 requests from across the planet for the Cup.
“I thought, what’s 1,201?” Rich said.
He sent an email to an NHL representative that month and got a response in November. After a short wait, the Cup made a nearly 3-hour appearance at Orr Rink on the campus of Amherst College on Wednesday night.
Youth players from the Amherst Hockey Association took pictures with the trophy on the ice during practice. The trophy was also made available to the public free of charge.
Rich is a hockey fan and his son, Stephen, plays on one of the AHA’s youth teams, but the idea to bring the Cup to Amherst goes beyond his affinity for the sport and a photo opportunity with the Cup.
Rich’s son played against a team from Wilbraham three years ago. Rich heard that one of the team’s players, Alex Blais, had been diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of cancer in the brain. To combat the cancer, Blais endured several surgeries, hospitalizations, needles, procedures and various medicines. While he stayed in the hospital, members of the AHA sent him letters and blankets. After a 2½ year battle, Blais died on June 9, 2019 at the age of 12.
Blais loved hockey and Steve Rich thought that bringing the Cup to western Massachusetts would be a great way to honor him.
Rich also started a youth clinic last summer in Amherst called Alex’s Hockey Heroes. All proceeds went to youth hockey programs and local hockey families.
“Steve has been so wonderful to our family ever since Alex was diagnosed,” said Margaret Blais, Alex’s mother.
UMass hockey coach Greg Carvel stopped by with his son Drew, who plays for the AHA, to get photos of himself and his son with the trophy.
“It’s the most iconic trophy in sports,” Carvel said. “For all of us that are hockey people, the history behind that trophy is extensive. What it means to hockey players to win is a lot more than any other sport. It’s here in memory of Alex. The job Steve Rich did, I am quite shocked (that the Cup got here). The NHL does a wonderful job sharing the Cup. I’s because of Steve Rich’s effort that it’s here.”
Carvel hopes that his son will appreciate the fact that he was able to touch the Cup and take a photo with it, because Carvel sure does.
He was an assistant coach with the Anaheim Ducks when the team lost to the New Jersey Devils in seven games in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. He was also an assistant with the Ottawa Senators when they reached the Cup Finals in 2006, but fell to the Ducks in five games.
“I appreciate it because I (coached) in a Game 7 but lost,” Carvel said. “It would be really nice to have my name on that, but I don’t.”
Hockey fans of all ages came to see the trophy.
“I’ve been watching the Stanley Cup playoff finals since 1973. It means a lot to me,” Dennis Doubleday, of Pelham, said. “I wish I had seen it when it was in Boston in 2011. This might be the closest it comes to being here again. … It’s really cool.”
The Cup is always in high demand, but when the Hockey Hall of Fame, in association with the NHL, heard the inspiration behind why Rich wanted to bring the trophy to Amherst, they decided to do it.
“This is not an easy thing to do as far as getting it here,” Hockey Hall of Fame representative Mike Bolt said. “We are so freaking booked. … The league really stepped up to help out. … Alex lost his life to brain cancer and Hockey Fights Cancer is our No. 1 charity that we are involved in. November was also Hockey Fights Cancer month for the NHL.”