The Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup with two prominent Czech players on their roster last season, Jakub Vrana and Michal Kempny. Defenseman Jakub Jerabek also served as a reserve during the team’s championship run.
The Czech contingent will bring the Stanley Cup to their home country for two days next week on July 10 and 11. It’s the first time the championship trophy will be in the Czech Republic since Michal RozsÃval won with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015.
While Kempny will be taking the Stanley Cup to his hometown and the Czech city where he played hockey, Vrana had a more heartfelt idea for his day with the Cup on July 11.
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Vrana’s comments come at the 1:05 mark.
When asked where he’d take the Cup during a press conference for TV Nova last week, Vrana had this to say.
“There are a few places,” the Capitals forward began, as translated by Alexandra Petáková. “For now, the hockey rink in Letňany and then I was thinking about many places. I’ll take it to a graveyard, my grandma died during the season and– there are a few places, I’ll see. I’ve got time, I’ve got a few days, so I’ll see.”
This is the first all season Vrana has talked about losing his grandmother.
The hockey rink is Letňany located north west of Prague in Praha, where Vrana was born.
Vrana began his youth hockey career playing for HC Letnany’s under-16 and under 18-year-old teams before moving on to SHL Linkoping. He’s only the second hockey player ever from that junior club to ever play in the NHL — Filip ChlapÃk is the other — and he’s the only player ever to win a Stanley Cup.
The 22-year-old Vrana added, “I have great memories from when I grew up there.”
On Thursday, Vrana posted on Instagram that he was taking the Stanley Cup to the main entrance of OC Letňany from 3-6 pm, the largest shopping mall in Prague. The event will be MC’d by Martin Dejdar and will feature an autograph session.
Vrana’s night will conclude with his “official celebration” at One Club Prague, which will hopefully feature more drunken Instagram stories.
According to the poster, the celebration will begin at 9 pm. “Come take a picture with Jakub Vrána and feast your eyes on the Stanley Cup, which will be displayed in One Club Prague on July 11 from 9 pm to midnight and experience until morning hours the atmosphere of celebration of the only Prague hockey graduate who ever won the Stanley Cup.”
Translations by Alexandra Petáková.
Headline photo: @jakubvranaa
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