Talking Stanley Cup with Dr. Doug Thom, the Ice Doc

April 6, 2018

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The Kenora Thistles’ Stanley Cup championship photograph. Back row: team president Lowry Johnson, Russell Phillips, coach and trainer J. A. Link, and team manager Red Hudson. Middle row: Roxy Beaudro, Tom Hooper, Tommy Phillips, Billy McGimsie, and Joe Hall. Front row: Si Griffis, Eddie Giroux, and Art Ross.

Stanley Cup Fever is Ready to Run Rampant

Thunder Bay – SPORTS – The quest for the Stanley Cup is ready to start. For many across Northern Ontario, the dreams of a Toronto Maple Leaf win are very strong, as the team has qualified for the postseason. NetNewsLedger in this first part of a two-part talk, with Professor Doug Thom, the “Ice Doc”, share some of the history of the Stanley Cup.

The lore behind the Stanley Cup, a trophy many young Canadian hockey players have dreamed they would one day skate around the ice holding over their heads is massive. The Cup is one of the most traveled, and most recognized sports trophies in the world.

The Cup has been won by a Northern Ontario hockey team, the Kenora Thistles, back in the early days when it was a challenge cup.

From the earliest days of the National Hockey League, right through to today, the Stanley Cup playoffs have been a time when Canada, from coast to coast to coast comes to pause to watch.

There has been a bit of controversy or angst over what has been common practice with the Stanley Cup. Did you know the rings that make up the Cup have been removed over time? As the Stanley Cup keeps having names added, the various rings with all the players names engraved on them have been taken off the Cup. The Cup currently, headed to the 2017-2018 playoffs will have a ring removed, and the names of some of the game’s most revered super stars will now go into the Hockey Hall of Fame, but will no longer be on the Cup.

The average life now of names on the Cup, as it will be celebrated is about sixty-five years. This year, names like Gordon Howe, Maurice Richard, and others of the golden years of the original six teams will start making way for the new players who will grace the Cup.

We hope you enjoy the video.