Hometown hero Mark Jankowski brings the Stanley Cup to Dundas

Hockey fans had the rare opportunity in Dundas on Tuesday to see the Stanley Cup up close and meet hometown hero Mark Jankowski. 

Jankowski grew up playing hockey in Dundas before he went on to the NHL and then this year’s Stanley Cup champion the Carolina Hurricanes.  

With the Stanley Cup arriving at 12 p.m., fans lined up long before that until there were hundreds of people waiting in a growing line.

“Seeing the Stanley Cup and a Stanley Cup champion it’s awesome,” a fan said.

“Dundas has always been a big part of me, I grew up there, my childhood, where I learned to skate, where I learned to first play hockey. And now I get to bring this big metal jug to share with you guys,” Jankowski said.

Among the people waiting for a Stanley Cup photo was Sasha Rivest, who says kids in her kindergarten class at Lansdowne Public School in Brantford love hockey and followed the Hurricanes with their own homemade version of the Stanley Cup.

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“They wanted to make their own Stanley Cup. Wow, we chased the dream with them,” Rivest said.

She received an autograph from Jankowski and told him her students are his biggest fans.

Steve Aglor, the general manager of the Dundas Blues junior hockey club says having Jankowski and the cup in town is part of a good year for hockey in the community.

“Mark started I remember watching him play minor hockey at Market Street arena when he was a little kid before he moved away. And so it’s pretty special having him come back here.”

“Growing up here playing hockey in Dundas I won the Stanley Cup a million times in my driveway. Now to actually do it for real and come back here to a place I hold dear to my heart and spent a lot of time here in Dundas, so it’s really special to bring it back here and celebrate with the community,” Jankowski said.

Although time ran out while many fans were still waiting in line, the cup was brought directly through the crowd so no one went home disappointed.

“So many hockey playing youth and proud Hamiltonians and Dundasians got to get their picture with the cup and Mark. It was a perfect day,” said Event Organizer Loren Lieberman.

Organizers estimate that around 1,200 people attended the event.

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