Stanley Cup returns to Cranbrook with Bowen Byram

To paraphrase The Rock; finally, the Stanley Cup has come back to Cranbrook!

Lord Stanley’s fabled silver mug, hockey’s holy grail, returned to Cranbrook via Bowen Byram.

The Cranbrook-born defenseman won the cup with the Colorado Avalanche in June, he was able to bring the hardware home and snap some pictures with local hockey fans at Western Financial Place Tuesday afternoon.

The local hockey pro was thrilled to share his experience with his hometown.

“To bring the cup back home is a really special experience,” says the 21-year old defender. “I’m very grateful that I got to have it this early on in my career. You never know, maybe I’ll be lucky enough to do it a couple more times before I’m done.”

Byram tallied 9 points through 20 games to help his Avalanche lift their first Stanley Cup since 2001.

He struggled to find the words to convey how it felt to lift the cup for the first time.

“It’s hard to describe to people,” Byram says. “You’ve just gone through a really tough couple months, and to finally get there it’s almost relief in some way. There’s a lot of stress and anxiety or whatever you want to call it throughout the playoffs and throughout the year.”

Dozens of fans showed up at Western Financial Place Tuesday with hopes of getting to meet the local hockey hero, and to get a first-hand look at the game’s most famous prize.

– Bowen Byram – Defenseman, Colorado Avalanche