A great touch to winning the Stanley Cup is the ability to have a personal day with the trophy after earning your victory. That same tradition applies at the junior level in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as every player on the Memorial Cup-winning team has their own day with the trophy to bring it back to their hometown and celebrate. The Cup has been on a tour with every member of the Saginaw Spirit and Friday (Aug 9), Vancouver Canucks prospect Josh Bloom finally had his day with the Cup and celebrated it with his community.
Bloom’s Celebration
Hailing from Oakville, Ontario just west of Toronto, Bloom brought the Memorial Cup to the Sixteen-Mile Sports Complex, home of Oakville’s Junior “A” hockey team, the Oakville Blades of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), which Bloom played for once as a call-up and is also the biggest ice-based facility in the entire town. He entered the facility in the afternoon and placed the trophy gently on a table to avoid any scratches to the more than 100-year-old championship cup. He allowed all residents who wanted to see the prestigious award to come by and take pictures with the Memorial Cup and take pictures with him. He was also signing hockey cards for those who wanted one.
But with this event, came a great story. A die-hard London Knights fan came to the event to meet Josh and look at the trophy. Saginaw played London in the Memorial Cup Final and Bloom scored the game-winning goal with less than 30 seconds left to win the trophy for Saginaw and ultimately rip this fan’s heart out as he was in attendance to watch the final game at the Dow Event Center. The fan had four pieces of memorabilia he asked Bloom to sign; two game pucks from the final game between Saginaw and London and his two ticket stubs from the game. Bloom graciously signed all items the fan had which hopefully made watching his Knights lose in the Final hurt a bit less. It was also a great example of how sports can bring two people from opposite teams together to share a heartfelt moment with each other.
Bloom’s Future in Vancouver
At the start of last season, Bloom was set to take his game to Abbotsford for his first full season of professional hockey. Unfortunately, things did not get off to a great start for him in the American Hockey League (AHL) and he eventually decided to move back to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and sign with his former team and Memorial Cup host the Saginaw Spirit. After a productive final year of junior hockey and capping it off with a Memorial Cup victory, Bloom is now aiming to earn a spot on Abbotsford’s roster once again. This time, he will not have the security of the OHL to fall back on seeing as he is now too old to play in junior hockey. So Bloom will either be playing in the AHL or playing for the Kalamazoo Wings in the ECHL.
Bloom will have a ton of talent to play with in Abbotsford if he makes the team. He will have the opportunity to play with players like Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Arshdeep Bains, and Ty Muller while also getting the chance to learn from Abbotsford’s new head coach Manny Malhotra. Vancouver’s AHL team will be entertaining this year as they have a good mix of young players coming into their first full seasons and older players who have played several years in the league along with a rookie head coach at the helm. If Bloom is able to earn a consistent spot on the team, he will be a part of the new young nucleus of players that the Cancuks are looking to grow in Abbotsford.
Bloom’s day with the Cup was a great experience for all and a good chance to reflect on the major accomplishment that he earned. But the hockey season grind will be upon him sooner rather than later and this year he hopes to make a good impression on the coaches and earn a spot in Abbotsford or maybe even Vancouver.
