Washington (United States) (AFP) – Thousands of jubilant red-clad “Caniacs” jammed the streets of Raleigh on Saturday to celebrate the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup triumph. Raleigh police put the number of spectators at more than 150,000 — roughly a third of the population of the North Carolina city — all bent on showing their appreciation for a Hurricanes team that beat the Vegas Golden Knights in six games to lift the Stanley Cup for the second time — 20 years after their triumph in 2006.
“I’m in shock,” said coach Rod Brind’Amour, who captained that Cup-winning team two decades ago. “It just kind of blew me away,” Brind’Amour said of the turnout for the parade and rally. “This meant a lot to them. You get in our one little bubble for months and months and months, and we’re not as in tune with what’s going on. But this run really brought this community together.”
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Many fans had to watch from home as the Hurricanes closed out the Stanley Cup final with a 3-0 victory in Las Vegas almost a week earlier. Fans staked out their places on the parade route or near the rally stage hours before double-decker buses bore the players through town.
‘Canes forward Seth Jarvis called the massive crowd “crazy,” and even captain Jordan Staal, who thought he knew what to expect, was stunned. “I was trying to explain to the fellas what I knew was going to happen,” said Staal, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs. “And my expectations were so high because I know these Caniacs, I know what they’re all about. And I was blown away,” he said. “I couldn’t even describe how amazing that was.”
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