EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – The Stanley Cup reached Minnesota, with fans so eager to see it that some lined up hours before its scheduled arrival with Carolina Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake.
“It’s crazy. You don’t really realize how cool it is until you get to actually do it and have the day,” Blake said on Thursday after posing for photos with fans next to the Stanley Cup in the lobby of the Eden Prairie Community Center.
“A lot of expectations and stuff, and you dream of doing this. To have all these people here and my family and everyone, it’s really special.”
The line of about 1,300 people snaked around the outside of the Eden Prairie Community Center in the summer heat, waiting to see Blake and the Stanley Cup under a balloon-arch backdrop for the 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. public event.
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It's the Stanley Cup's first visit to Minnesota this week. Hurricanes defenseman K'Andre Miller played high school hockey for nearby Minnetonka High School and is expected to bring the trophy to Pagel Activity Center in Minnetonka, Minn. on Saturday.
Blake said after his two-hour photo session with fans that his cheeks “were stuck just like this” as he smiled for all the photos.
“It’s worth it,” he added. “Everyone deserves it. It’s for the people.”
Blake, who won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes this season, was born in Fargo, N.D. but spent most of his youth in Eden Prairie, where he played youth and high school hockey.
“Eden Prairie’s been great, and that’s why I come back every summer,” Blake said. “Because this place is unreal.”
Blake, who turns 23 years old on Aug. 3, signed an eight-year contract with the Hurricanes in July 2025.
The young forward recorded 53 points (22 goals, 31 assists) in 81 games last season. He scored the overtime, series-clinching goal to send the Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference Final this spring.
“To win this year at 22, it’s really special,” Blake said. “It’s a little weight off the shoulders. Obviously, you want to win it every single year, but it’s kind of that weight lifted off your back, ‘alright, we did it.’
“So, we can play with more confidence in knowing that, for sure. It’s really special, and I’m very grateful.”
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Blake’s father, Jason, and other family members wore white “Canes Cup Champions” T-shirts with a graphic of Jackson hoisting the Cup at the event. Father and son posed for a photo with the Stanley Cup on the ice at Eden Prairie Community Center.
Jason played 871 games as a forward in the NHL but never played for the Stanley Cup.
Also in attendance was the Eden Prairie varsity boys hockey team and other alumni of the program, like Jackson’s friend and former Eagles teammate, Mason Langenbrunner, who just finished a four-year career as a defenseman with Harvard University.
Mason and Jackson won the Class 2A Minnesota boys state hockey championship together in 2021, when Jackson scored the overtime-winning goal in the state title game. While playing for the Chicago Steel in the USHL, Jackson also scored the game-winner to win the Clark Cup.
Scoring those big goals seems to be a pattern.
“He’s mentally strong and doesn’t fear the moment,” said Lee Smith, former Eden Prairie boys high school coach who coached Jackson, in a recent phone interview. “I think the thing that always stood out with him is he was really never satisfied. He always wanted to get better.”
Seeing Jackson win the Stanley Cup is “such a full-circle moment,” Mason said.
“We’ve been making jokes about it, which one feels better to win,” Mason said. “He keeps going back and forth, giving props to the Minnesota (state) tournament as well.
“It’s so cool. We’re obviously so proud of him.”