Braden Holtby dreamed about winning the Stanley Cup. The shiny Cup is the best gift any professional hockey player could be given, but Holtby’s parents might have tried to one-up Stanley.
After winning with the Capitals, Holtby’s parents gifted him a Prestige Rebel guitar. They presented it to him during his day with the Cup on Tuesday.
Braden Holtby of the @Capitals celebrated his @StanleyCup win by bringing the Cup home to Lashburn, SK. Awaiting him, was his brand new @PrestigeGuitars @corychurko Signature Model! We are beyond honoured. Congratulations Braden!! @NHL @TSN_Sports @Sportsnet #stanleycup #prestige pic.twitter.com/EuUE0AX2pK
— Prestige Guitars (@PrestigeGuitars) August 1, 2018
Prestige Guitars, based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, shared the photos on their Twitter account. They have been building guitars for 13 years. The guitar model Holtby was given is the Cory Churko Signature Model. Churko is the longtime guitarist and musical director for Shania Twain, and has also played for Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire.
Churko posted additional photos on his personal Instagram account. In his caption, he stated that Holtby’s mom, Tami, contacted Churko after the Capitals won about buying his Signature Model. The family gave the gift to Holtby on Tuesday where he took the most Braden-like photos.
A post shared by Cory Churko (@corychurko) on
Holtby has credited music for a lot of his success in his hockey career. His love of music began early in life when his mom Tami was the lead singer of a country band in Saskatchewan. He learned how to play guitar during his junior hockey days. Today, he is known to play impromptu sets for the team after morning skates and practices, where he focuses on playing chill music especially Jack Johnson.
“Especially over a long season like this, I’m always searching for ways to create that similarity every game day, of the mindset I’m trying to get into,” Holtby said to Sports Illustrated’s Alex Prewitt. “A lot it is the mental prep, the breathing, the imagery, but throughout the day you don’t want to be angry or sleepy or all those different feelings you have that could change your view on how you’re going to perform that night. Music just always takes you back to the same place. Any type of music, you listen to it, it changes your mood, your outlook on things. That’s my reason for doing it, I guess.”
After The Tragically Hip, a band Holtby can give credit to for his early love of music, announced their lead singer Gord Downie was diagnosed with glioblastoma, Holtby auctioned off one of his masks to raise money. When Downie passed away last season, Holtby was inspired by his courage and was reminiscent of how much the band has done for music in Canada.
“[Downie] was the exact example of what we think Canadians should be,” Holtby said after Downie’s passing. “He fought for the right things. He was very gentle, very kind, treated everyone the same. You could just tell that. You look at him from the start of his career to the end and he cared a lot about people and he cared a lot about them in his music and he wanted to get messages across and create a better good.”
Headline photo: @PrestigeGuitars
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