Stanley Cup highlights Hockey Day On The Hill

WASHINGTON -- The whip held a stick in front of the Stanley Cup.

U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer was all smiles as he posed with a hockey stick in front of the Cup, which was on display in his Capitol Hill office.

“Everybody would love to have the Cup in their office,” said Emmer (R-Minnesota). “Everybody should have an opportunity at least once in their lifetime to see the single greatest trophy in any professional sport worldwide.”

Lawmakers, staffers, members of Capitol Hill law enforcement and tourists got that chance Wednesday. They lined up outside Emmer’s office for a chance to see the Cup and pose for pictures with it.

A similar scene occurred on the Senate side of the Capitol earlier in the day at a Cup viewing hosted by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada), and a proud fan of the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.

“It’s an honor to host the Stanley Cup here today and celebrate our Golden Knights champions who have accomplished so much in just six seasons,” Masto said. “From the U.S. Capitol to ‘The Fortress,’ the Golden Knights always make Nevada proud.”

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) said that the Cup “travels between the Capitol and Las Vegas year after year after year.”

“We’ve had a steady stream of people coming in here today,” Rosen said. “Nobody does a show like Las Vegas, nobody puts on an event like Las Vegas, and this has been an event.”

It was part of a Hockey Day on the Hill that mixed fun with a sense of purpose. Representatives from the NHL and USA Hockey met with members of the Future Forum, a caucus of 51 young House members, and discussed youth sports and a pathway to healthier communities.

“At the NHL Foundation, there are four pillars that we are focused on. ... The first is around health and wellness … the second area is youth development, the third area is social mobility and the fourth area, which I’m really proud of, is pathways to hockey,” Kim Davis, NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Social Impact, Growth Initiatives and Legislative Affairs, told the lawmakers. “There are so many opportunities to work in the sport of hockey. Not only play the sport, but work in the sport. And representation counts in the sport of hockey.”

Davis and Emmer also used the Cup Capitol Hill tour to highlight the Congressional Hockey Challenge, an annual game between the Lawmakers and the Lobbyists supported by the NHL and Washington Capitals. This year’s game is 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday at MedStar Capitals Iceplex, the Capitals’ practice facility.

Since 2009, the game has raised more than $1.5 million for charities including Washington’s Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, USA Hockey Warriors Ice Hockey Program, Capital Warriors Beltway Hockey Program and the Tampa Warriors Hockey Heals event.

“It’s about something bigger than just the game,” said Emmer, who plays for the Lawmakers. “It’s really a big, big deal in terms of all of the resources that the NHL, NHL leadership, ownership are involved in helping us, and all the great corporate sponsors that get involved. It makes it not just fun, but incredibly worthwhile."

A portion of proceeds from this year’s game will support the NHL Foundation U.S. and the creation of an innovative new grant specifically aimed toward empowering young girls to engage in hockey.

Haley Skarupa, head scout for USA Hockey’s U.S. Women’s National Team program and a member of the U.S. women’s team that won the gold medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, will be an adviser for the grant.

“The support for women’s hockey, girl’s hockey, that this game, all of you, have done is amazing,” Skarupa, an NHL Foundation adviser, said at a Hockey Challenge reception on Wednesday. “I just wanted to say thank you, and I’m really excited to see the growth of girl’s hockey and just youth hockey all over the country and the world.”