Stanley Cup enjoys trip through Saskatchewan

With 13 different Los Angeles Kings players and staff members hailing from Ontario, Canada's most populous province will see plenty of the Stanley Cup this summer. But Saskatchewan is getting three days of its own this week with hockey's holy grail, more than any Canadian province other than Ontario.

Not bad for a province with a population of just over 1 million -- and one that went without a Cup visit last summer.

It started Tuesday in Saskatoon, where Kings scout Brent McEwen received the Cup. While McEwen enjoyed plenty of private time with the trophy in his hometown, the real celebration began when he brought it to the University of Saskatchewan's Rutherford Rink, a historic facility that opened in 1929.

As a former hockey player, manager and coach for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, it was the perfect homecoming for McEwen, who also served for seven years as general manager of the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League before joining the Kings in 2004. With McEwen's daughter getting married last Saturday, it was an eventful week for the family.

Wednesday, the celebration continued in Saskatchewan when Kings wing Dwight King brought the Cup to his hometown of Meadow Lake, which two weeks earlier played host to the 2012 Saskatchewan Summer Games.

After enjoying some private time with his family, King brought the trophy to the local arena in the town, which had not seen the Stanley Cup since 2003, when Jeff Friesen brought it after winning it as a member of the New Jersey Devils.

After more than two hours at a public event at Meadow Lake Arena, King honored his Métis heritage by sharing the Cup with the nearby Flying Dust Reserve. At the arena where his family has held an annual summer hockey camp the past few years, King put the trophy on display for the local Aboriginal community, which presented him with a traditional quilt bearing the Kings logo.

King ended his day with a celebration at his family home in nearby Bear Creek.

From there, the Cup will spend one last day in Saskatchewan -- Jarret Stoll brings it to Neudorf on Thursday, when he will host a celebration at the Neudorf Sports Grounds.