In six years with the Stanley Cup, Neubrand has enough priceless memories to star in his own MasterCard commercial.
For him, many of the unforgettable moments with the Cup involve simple places with even simpler people. A life-long love of the environment has shaped his list of the 10 favorite places he has traveled with the Stanley Cup.
Native Hockey Tournament, Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada, February 2000: Nunavut is located above the tree line in Arctic Canada. The trek to get there, where the temperature was hovering at minus-65 F, was long and arduous, but well worth it, according to Neubrand.
The Stanley Cup made its main appearance before a playoff game in the tournament, but also did a tour of the town, even stopping for a while inside an igloo. According to Neubrand, some people drove 250 miles on snowmobiles across unforgiving terrain just to get a glimpse at the trophy.
"I've always wanted to go that far north and to bring the Cup on a special occasion was just incredible," says Neubrand, who spent just 15 hours on the Rankin Inlet. "They really appreciated it and were very friendly people."
Sweden, players on the Detroit Red Wings, Summers 1998 and 2002: Neubrand got to see most of Sweden in two whirlwind tours of the European country that had always been on his wish list of places to visit. He found the country to remind him a great deal of his native Canada, populated with polite and appreciative people that often spoke excellent English to make the journey even more fun.
For the most part, the Cup was taken on a tour of the players' family and friends. Tomas Holmstrom had the Cup in the northern part of the country, Fredrik Olausson, now with Anaheim, had it in the south. Nicklas Lidstrom took over in the central part of Sweden, where he took it to the tallest building in the city of Vasteras. The Stanley Cup was also a guest of honor at an exquisite feast of native caribou at Anders Ericksson's place in Bollnas.
White House, Washington DC, Detroit Red Wings, 1998, and Dallas Stars, 1999: Despite being Canadian, Neubrand found his two trips to the White House as a guest of then-President Bill Clinton to be thrilling affairs.
He compared the ride from the airport to the White House on the team bus to the movie Speed.
"We had a police escort of six motorcyclists and they cleared the way to the White House with the bus going 50 MPH," recalls Neubrand. "The guys on the team had a ball inside, everyone sitting looking down the aisle out the front window. A couple times I thought we were going to wipe out."
They arrived safely both times and Neubrand was chagrinned to watch the players' reactions to being in the company of the President at the White House.
"The players were very excited going there and it's fun watching them get flustered meeting someone," he said. "It's always them people are excited about."
Los Angeles, California, Luc Robitaille, Detroit Red Wings, August 2002: For Neubrand, Robitaille was one of the nicest guys he has met in his duties of accompanying the Cup.
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Above, the Stanley Cup visits a group of elementary school students.
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"Most of the players we deal with are really nice, but a few stand out and he's one of them," says Neubrand. "He stands out not only because he was very courteous and always happy, but what he did with the Cup."
Robitaille took the trophy on a tourist's tour of Los Angeles. The Stanley Cup was placed on a rented bus, surrounded by Robitaille's family and friends -- all dressed in T-shirts specially made for the occasion.
"We took the Cup to the Mann's Chinese Theatre, Universal Studios, the Kodak Theatre, a
Dodgers game, and my favorite, the Hollywood sign," he recalled. "That was definitely cool!
"He made a lot of people happy that day, but it makes sense because he and his wife Stacia are very good people."
Muskoka, Ontario, Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings, September 2002: Muskoka is part of "cottage country" north of Toronto. It is a favorite camping destination for Ontario residents, including Neubrand.
"I love camping, and this area isn't far from where we go," explained Neubrand, who had a poster of Yzerman in his boyhood bedroom. "So, to bring the Cup up there in the late summer on a warm night by a lake was awesome. Also, it was kind of neat with Steve Yzerman there! He is a very down-to-earth man who enjoys his privacy, and it was special being able to share that with him and his family."
Neubrand spent close to 36 hours with Yzerman at his cottage and never did much of anything that was out-of-the-ordinary for that bucolic area. Yzerman and Steve Duchesne took Neubrand and the Cup on a tour of other cottages in the area owned by NHL players. The rest of the time was spent swimming in the lake or just sitting on the dock enjoying the surrounding tranquility.
Malibu, California, Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings, August 2002: On the ice, Chelios never seemed to get tired, playing endless minutes as the Red Wings won the Cup in 2002. During his day with the Stanley Cup, it was much the same story with Chelios, says Neubrand.
Chelios received the Stanley Cup after Robitaille's visit and the Cup's stop at Disneyland for an ABC promotion. To make sure he could have the Cup for as long as possible, Chelios rented a helicopter to fly Neubrand and the trophy to his place in Malibu, turning a two-hour drive into a 30-minute flight over some of the most scenic coastline the United States has to offer.
"I flew 1,000 feet over Disneyland, downtown LA, Dodger Stadium, the Hollywood sign, the Playboy Mansion, and the coastline on my way to Chelios' place," said Neubrand. "When I landed, the party began at the beach and Chris had all these Hollywood friends with him. The weather was warm and the ocean breeze was cool. Naturally, we ended up at a Greek restaurant. The only problem with Chris is that he never gets tired."
Czech Republic, Detroit Red Wings players, August 2002: Despite making the trip to the Czech Republic in the wake of some of the worst flooding the country had ever experienced, Neubrand found the six-day tour of the Czech Republic to uplifting.
"How often will a person get to travel to the Czech Republic?" asked Neubrand. "We were there with the Wings players and basically barnstormed the country for six days towing the Cup along to their respective hometowns. Unfortunately, floods were ravishing part of the country. However, we were able to use the Cup to raise money for some of the people that suffered property damage."
Neubrand was amazed at how well-versed the Czech populace was about the Stanley Cup and all things NHL.
Plus, this trip featured one of Neubrand's better practical jokes, at the expense of Jiri Fischer. One night when Fischer was sleeping, Neubrand and some unnamed co-conspirators absconded with the Cup. Upon awaking, Fischer was accused of losing the Stanley Cup. After some tense moments, Neubrand finally let on that it was all a joke.
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Former Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman hosted a Stanley Cup party at his house for family and friends after his team won the Cup in 1997.
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Stanley Cup Parades, Detroit Red Wings, 2002, and Dallas Stars, 1999: Who doesn't like a parade, wonders Neubrand.
The parades held by Detroit and Dallas to celebrate their most-recent Stanley Cup championships will always have a place in Neubrand's memory bank, he says.
"Being part of a parade is one thing, but being part of a Stanley Cup parade accompanying the main attraction is another. Simply an awesome display, both in Dallas and Detroit. The amount of people that showed up and displayed their signs and support was unreal.
"It was especially nice since everyone was so happy. People were hanging out buildings, on cars and motor homes, construction workers stopping and waving, it was just an incredible experience. The weather was great both times, but I don't think it would have mattered."
Buffalo, New York, Scotty Bowman, Detroit Red Wings, Summer 1997: The trip to Bowman's house will always be special for Neubrand because it was the first time he accompanied the Stanley Cup to someone's house for his day with the trophy. It came just a few days after he became a Stanley Cup escort.
"I remember doing the two-hour drive from Toronto to Buffalo thinking, 'I'm on my way to Scotty Bowman's house with the Stanley Cup, what is going on?'"
But, everything went fine. The Cup spent the day in Bowman's backyard with family and friends. Later, Bowman invited people from the neighborhood to come by for a photo and Bowman posed in several of them himself.
Amazingly, Bowman called it a day at 6 p.m. and Neubrand was back in his car heading for the Hall of Fame. As a rookie, Neubrand thought all visits would be like that until more than a few players disabused him of that notion, using every minute of their 24-hour allotment.
Darren McCarty, Detroit Red Wings, Summer 1997, 1998 and 2002: Despite accompanying the Stanley Cup to McCarty's day with it each time McCarty has won it, Neubrand still never knows what to expect.
The first year Neubrand made the trip, he found himself trekking through tomato fields in the dead of the night to reach a nearby barn where McCarty's friend and his band were playing.
"It was in the middle of the night and we took the Cup where he and his band were playing. I just remember stepping over all these tomatoes and barely being able to see, asking him where the hell we were going."
According to Neubrand, McCarty topped himself this summer, insisting the Stanley Cup go on a motorcycle tour of his neighborhood. After some serious reservations, Neubrand agreed to let it happen.
"Now, before you get all crazy, we had it well tied, and we had a police escort so there were no traffic hassles," cautions Neubrand. "And, I made him keep it at 30 MPH. I rode on a motorcycle beside him, as a passenger, on one of his friend's bikes. It was my first time on a motorcycle, and I was somewhat scared. 'Vulnerable' would be a better word. You never know what to expect when you're with Darren McCarty."
