A swarm of hockey-loving kids - of all ages - gathered around the doors to Harry Howell Arena on Monday afternoon with their phones ready to capture the moment Waterdown's Carter Verhaeghe brought home the Stanley Cup.
Verhaeghe played an integral role in bringing home the cup for his team, the Florida Panthers, in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals.
This is the second time Verhaeghe has come home to Waterdown with the Stanley Cup. In 2021, he brought the cup home after winning with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020.
Verhaeghe entered the arena to cheers, stopping to give kids a chance to touch the iconic trophy, before going in to meet and greet with as many people as possible.
Some fans came out in their Flamborough Sabres jerseys, the team Verhaeghe played for as a kid. Some wore their own Florida Panthers jerseys, while others came in Edmonton Oilers jerseys.
Verhaeghe said, "It's just awesome that everyone's fans of the game," and added he knows his community has love for him, no matter what team he plays for.
The meet and greet had such a large turnout that not everyone got inside to visit the cup. Verhaeghe took it outside to the people left in line, so they could snap a photo and put their hand on it.
Verhaeghe kept snapping photos with fans up until the last moment, before taking the Stanley Cup back to a family barbecue in Waterdown.
Alongside members of the community he grew up in, Verhaeghe 's family came out to celebrate his win.
"It's special," he said, noting last time he brought the Stanley Cup home was during COVID-19.
"Not everyone got to see it and make it and I can share it with everyone. My family, my wife, my sister and my parents all my cousins."
Verhaeghe's father, Thomas Verhaeghe, coached hockey when his son was younger, but said he was never much of a player himself. He said watching his son go from playing road hockey as a kid to being an NHL player bringing home the cup has been a journey.
"When he made the NHL, we were just ecstatic and over the moon, and then to win his first cup his first year?" Thomas said, referring to Verhaeghe's 2021 win with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"It's really hard to believe. Just to see the Verhaeghe name on [the Stanley Cup] and Carter's name on there, it's really incredible," he said.
Karen, Verhaeghe's mom, said her son always loved hockey and has been playing since he was very young, but it's only looking back that she really noticed how good he was at the game.
"This is going to sound ridiculous, but he was playing road hockey at 18-months old," she said. "Some kids were just learning to walk. He was out hitting a ball with a stick."
Verhaeghe told reporters he was looking forward to spending time with his family while stopping in with the cup, including his 92-year-old grandmother who stopped by the arena to see him.
"I'm just so lucky to bring it back here and to share it with everyone that helped me grow up here," he said.
