The weather gods served up a perfect day for a parade yesterday, let alone one to celebrate a hometown kid with hockey’s greatest prize.
For all the knocks against Mondays, yesterday was a pretty good one in St. John’s.
The Stanley Cup sparked joyous scenes wherever it and Alex Newhook went, from Confederation Building to Bannerman Park and the George Street stage.
But it went to another level on Water Street, where cheering crowds five and six deep lined the pedestrian mall and packed the decks along the route, straining to see or take pics and video of Newhook and the silver Cup gleaming in the sun.
Alex Newhook and Mayor Danny Breen pose with the banner that will be raised to the rafters at Mary Brown’s Centre.
The perfect weather was the other star yesterday, not just for the Cup party, but also the thousands of tourists from two cruise ships who suddenly found themselves in the middle of it all.
As for Newhook, he was still getting his head around the Stanley Cup being his for a while.
“It’s pretty surreal to be able to hold this and treat it as my own for the day. I’ve worked for this, I’ve dreamt of this for a long time so it means a lot.” – Alex Newhook
Newhook couldn’t say enough about the support he’s received, first and foremost from his family.
He thanked his mother, father and sister, saying they have always been “his rock” and remarking on how incredible it was to share the Cup experience with them.
Newhook is the third Newfoundland player to win the Cup, following Michael Ryer in 2011 and Danny Cleary in 2008.
