A few hours up the highway, inside the NHL’s bubble in Edmonton, their son Brayden was celebrating with the Stanley Cup.
Proud hockey parents Grant and Janice Point, surrounded by a small crew of family and close friends in the southeast neighbourhood of New Brighton, were doing the same.
“The guys watched the game downstairs — four or five of us, very astutely, like we’re all coaches watching. And the girls watched upstairs, and they were yelling and screaming the whole time,” Grant said with a chuckle. “When it was over and we all got together, we had a pretty good time. And then Brayden’s agent showed up as a surprise — he was in town anyways — and he rolled through the door. So we had a bit of a party after that.
“The girls actually made a makeshift Stanley Cup — they had tinfoil around a vase. So we were drinking out of the fake Stanley Cup.”
Brayden, meanwhile, and his Tampa Bay Lightning teammates were sipping from the real deal.
The Calgary kid played a crucial role, too, sniping the game-winner in Monday’s 2-0 clincher against the Dallas Stars.
All told, Brayden notched a league-leading 14 goals during the NHL’s summer restart. The Lightning were 11-0 when their first-line centre found the back of the net.
Further proof of his impact, Brayden received eight first-place votes in Conn Smythe Trophy balloting. Although defenceman Victor Hedman scored MVP honours, the 24-year-old Point got his paws on the hardware that he’s long been after.
“Watching Brayden lift the Stanley Cup, that was a really cool moment, for sure,” Grant said Tuesday morning. “It’s a little surreal. It’s like, ‘Wow.’ A pinch-me type thing.
“Just because you know how much that’s been driving him since he’s a little kid. All of us … You, me, every Canadian kid, probably had that dream of winning the Stanley Cup. And then to get the game-winner, to boot? Unbelievable.
“And then when you lift that Cup up, it’s not just for him. The way Brayden is as a guy, he’s lifting that up for everybody that he played with and stuff like that. He’s that type of person. He’s really thoughtful about other people. So for him to do that, that’s a ‘Yeah!’ for a lot of guys and for us and for his brothers …
“So it’s pretty cool.”
In any other season, Brayden’s parents and brothers likely would have joined him on the ice shortly after the trophy presentation, but there were not many loved ones in attendance at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
When Grant and Janice considered the strict requirements to enter the bubble, including an isolation period and a string of negative tests for COVID-19, they decided they’d cheer on their son from home in Calgary.
Brayden, after turning his childhood dream to reality, was certainly thinking of them.
He texted while the Lightning were still spinning laps with the shiny prize. He called shortly thereafter.
“We talked for maybe two or three minutes and then he said, ‘The Cup is coming in the room right now — I gotta go,’ ” Grant said. “I said ‘Absolutely, you gotta go. You can talk to us later. Go have a hell of a time.’ Because yeah, it’s something you want to share with your family, but that’s a journey with your team. That’s a two-month voyage, basically, that you have taken with a group of 28 guys, and that’s their time to celebrate.
“I’m just happy for him, happy for all those guys.”
Across Calgary, a lot of folks — former teammates and classmates, coaches and neighbours and on and on — are happy for the Point family.
Brayden was raised in Riverbend and honed his skills in the Blackfoot minor-hockey system before skating for the Bisons/Buffaloes in AAA action.
Now, at 24, the Moose Jaw Warriors alum is a Stanley Cup champion.
The Lightning jetted Tuesday to Tampa for a boat parade, so mom and dad will have to wait a while longer to greet their superstar son with hugs and handshakes.
“I think I had 270-some text messages,” Grant said of the reaction to Monday’s pinch-me moment. “That just goes to show you how many people have a part in something like this. Those are all different people that we know or that know Brayden. One of his old teachers sent a text to my son Riley. That’s just how big winning the Cup is.
“The thing I think about, for me and definitely for Brayden, is how many people you get to share this with. That’s the cool part. And we’ll be sharing it.”
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
