Regardless of which National Hockey League team wins the Stanley Cup in 2024, someone with deep ties to Essex County will see his name on Lord Stanley's Cup for the first time in his celebrated career.
At press time, the Florida Panthers held a 3-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers in the best-of-seven series to determine this year's NHL champion. The Panthers are coached by former Windsor Compuware Spitfires defenseman and assistant coach Paul Maurice, and one of Maurice's go-to guys on the Panthers' blueline is Belle River native Aaron Ekblad.
The Oilers feature former Spitfire player and two-time Memorial Cup winner center Adam Henrique, but also have former Spitfire center Keith Gretzky as the team’s assistant general manager and former Spitfire owner and general manager Warren Rychel as a pro hockey scout. In addition, former Spitfire goaltending coach Rick Pracey is the Oilers’ director of amateur scouting. All of them, besides Henrique, could add their names to the Stanley Cup if Edmonton makes a historic comeback and wins the Stanley Cup in seven games.
Rychel, a native of Tecumseh, won a Stanley Cup as a player with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996. None of the other teams mentioned above have done so to date.
Each team that wins the Stanley Cup is allowed to put up to 52 names on the cup, including players, coaches, managers and other team members.
The 28-year-old Ekblad, born in Windsor but raised in Belle River, has been a stalwart defenceman for the Panthers for 10 seasons after being selected first overall by the club in the 2014 National Hockey League Entry Draft. Prior to joining Florida, he played three seasons in the OHL with the Barrie Colts, who selected him first overall in the 2011 OHL Priority Selection. Ekblad was granted exceptional status by Hockey Canada, allowing him to play in the OHL at the age of 15.
Although Maurice hails from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, he does have significant ties to Essex County. After being selected in the second round of the 1985 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection by the Windsor Compuware Spitfires, Maurice, a defenseman, patrolled the Spitfires' blueline for four seasons before retiring midway through the 1987-88 OHL season to begin his coaching career as an assistant to head coach Tom Webster.
After serving as head coach of both the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors and Detroit Jr. Red Wings in the OHL, Maurice served as coach of the NHL's Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets before joining the Panthers for the 2022-23 NHL season.
Maurice, 57, regularly returns to Essex County in the off-season as his wife Michelle is from the Windsor area.
Henrique, a 34-year-old native of Burford, Ontario, played four seasons with the Spitfires, beginning with the 2-45 campaign and winning back-to-back Memorial Cups with the Spits during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons before moving up to the NHL with the New Jersey Devils. He also played for the Anaheim Ducks, who traded him to Edmonton earlier this year.
Henrique returned to his old stomping ground, the WFCU Centre, this past May to participate in Jonesy's Game, a charity event raising awareness and money for the fight against ALS.
Regardless of which team ultimately wins the 2024 National Hockey League championship, or whether a local hockey icon’s name appears on the Stanley Cup for the first time, Lord Stanley’s trophy will likely make one or two appearances in Essex County this summer.
