SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The Florida Panthers are back-to-back champions of the NHL, and in addition to more fame and potential riches, the winning team gets to celebrate with the Stanley Cup personally. By tradition, each player and team staffer gets a day to celebrate with the trophy however and wherever they choose, but the esteemed punch-bowl-shaped trophy travels with protection, if you please, and we have him. Phil Pritchard, vice president and curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame, goes along with the Cup to each stop. Mr. Pritchard, thanks very much for being with us.
PHIL PRITCHARD: Hey, Scott. It's great to chat with you.
SIMON: Great to chat with you. And were are reports that the trophy has been somewhat damaged in the celebration Tuesday night. What's happened?
PRITCHARD: It's 133 years old, and if you and I looked as good as the Cup does when we're 133, we'll be doing all right. So yeah, sure, it gets a bit of damage and that minor stuff and that, but we'll get it all fixed and ready to go.
SIMON: So do you just put a little Elmer's glue on it? What do you do?
PRITCHARD: (Laughter) It'd be great if it's that simple. I don't know the exact terminology and everything, but we need a silversmith and everything to make sure it looks as good as ever. And Tuesday night, it looked great. And as it always does, with all of this silver and history and aura behind it, it looks as good as ever.
SIMON: Tell us a little bit about your role. It sounds like you're part historian and part security guard.
PRITCHARD: What's amazing about the game of hockey, the ultimate part of it, is for any kid that's put on a pair of skates or picked up a stick, they want to play in arguably the greatest league in the world - the National Hockey League - and have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. Part of that, you get the opportunity to bring the Stanley Cup home. And our role at the Hockey Hall of Fame is to look after all of that great history, all of that tradition, making sure the Cup is part of the history of what this championship means and everything and to be able to take it around to wherever these players are from. If you look at a National Hockey League roster, there's players from countries all around the world.
SIMON: Where are some of the places you've been?
PRITCHARD: I think there's 96 countries around the world now that are playing ice hockey, and we've been to 30 of them with the Stanley Cup.
SIMON: I mean, what happens when you take it along with the player? Do you wind up going to schools? Do you wind up in a player's kitchen, in their kids' bedrooms? 'Cause - do they want to show it to the family dog?
PRITCHARD: So we have an idea ahead of time what the day's going to be like. And obviously, it's a pretty powerful, pretty emotional day for the player and his family because they're celebrating with all of those that helped them come to be part of this hockey player and be part of this champion that they are. So we do do school visits. We go to coaches - first - their first coach or their favorite coach, their favorite restaurants - things like that.
SIMON: Forgive me, Mr. Pritchard - is there any player that just wanted to slurp some soup or beer out of it?
PRITCHARD: When you hear about some of the foods they want to eat out of it or drink out of it or something, you - sometimes you wonder why they want to do that. And then you hear it's their mom made this soup, that it was their favorite soup growing up and they want to relive that moment or everything and that. So when you understand why they do it, that means a whole lot.
SIMON: So that's OK. They can do that?
PRITCHARD: You make sure it's looked after, in the bowl and everything. It's - we're not putting hot soup right directly into the bowl. It's going into a soup bowl, then sits in the Cup itself.
SIMON: Do you ever have to say no to what a player wants to do?
PRITCHARD: I think the biggest thing about winning the Stanley Cup is the respect they have for the trophy. They have earned a lifetime towards winning this thing, and they're not going to do anything to damage its integrity, its tradition or anything like that. So when you listen to the story of why they want to do that - of whether they're going to eat a different food out of it or something or take it to a cemetery for a passed one, then you understand what the player's about. So we always listen first and then react after, and the great thing about it is they're always respectful.
SIMON: Phil Pritchard is vice president and curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and he travels with the Stanley Cup. You are in Florida now, right?
PRITCHARD: Correct. Yes.
SIMON: Well, good travels to you, sir.
PRITCHARD: Yeah. They continue to go. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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