By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Normally, it’s the post office that makes special deliveries. But this time, John Stevens had a special delivery to make to the post office in Sea Isle City.
Taking great care not to drop it, Stevens carried a gleaming sterling silver trophy that stands 36 inches tall, weighs 36 pounds, is 131 years old and seemed to have a mesmerizing effect on everyone who saw and touched it.
“Oh, my God, I get to touch it,” exclaimed the post office’s acting supervisor, Melissa Bell.
Stevens, the assistant coach of the 2023 National Hockey League champions Vegas Golden Knights, walked into the post office Monday and placed the Stanley Cup on the counter like he was getting ready to send it somewhere by express mail.
Bell, a huge hockey fan, could hardly believe that she was standing next to the revered cup. But she did have a confession to make.
“I’m absolutely thrilled. But I hate to say it, I’m a Flyers fan,” Bell said of her ultimate dream to have the Philadelphia Flyers win the Stanley Cup and bring it to Sea Isle.
Still, Bell could hardly contain her excitement when Stevens and his wife, Stacy, entered the post office with the Stanley Cup in tow.
“It was everything I wanted it to be. Thank you. I so appreciate it,” Bell said to Stacy Stevens as the two exchanged a hug.
After appearing at the post office, John Stevens also made stops at City Hall and the Sea Isle City Welcome Center during a whirlwind, 45-minute tour Monday morning to share the Stanley Cup with city workers and lucky members of the public.
Considered the “Holy Grail” of championship professional sports trophies, the historic Stanley Cup dates to 1893 and is presented to the NHL’s championship team each year.
Players, coaches, owners and management from the winning team are allowed to spend a day with the cup as part of its longstanding tradition.
Stevens is a former NHL player who went on to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings and the Philadelphia Flyers. He now serves as an assistant coach of the Vegas Golden Knights.
He has strong connections to Sea Isle, including his ownership of a summer vacation home in the resort since 2009. He noted that it was important for him to share the Stanley Cup with a community that has embraced him, his wife and their sons, John and Nolan.
“This is home for us,” he said in an interview. “It’s a wonderful family town. People come here and they don’t want to leave. My kids grew up here. Ask my sons where they’re from and they’ll say, Sea Isle City, New Jersey.”
Mayor Leonard Desiderio, who greeted Stevens at City Hall, thanked him for bringing the Stanley Cup to town. Amid great fanfare from the public, Stevens also brought the trophy to Sea Isle in 2014 after the Los Angeles Kings won the championship that year and he was serving as their head coach then.
“It’s community spirit at its best,” Desiderio said. “It is a great thrill for many people. It’s really good to see so many smiles on people’s faces.”
Desiderio, though, acknowledged that he would have preferred to have a Stanley Cup celebration in Sea Isle following a championship for the Flyers.
“As a longtime former season ticket holder for the Flyers, I certainly wish it was the Flyers here,” he said.
Desiderio was given the honor of hoisting the Stanley Cup triumphantly over his head for photos during a brief ceremony at City Hall. Others seemed captivated when they touched or stood next to the trophy.
“It was amazing. Who gets to do that? Not many,” City Councilwoman Mary Tighe said after touching the cup.
Tighe said having the Stanley Cup in Sea Isle exemplifies the city’s friendly, small-town atmosphere. She noted she had friends from Virginia and West Virginia who were in Sea Isle and were enthralled to see the trophy.
Lt. James McQuillen, a senior member of the Sea Isle City Police Department, posed for photos next to the Cup with his daughters, Avery, 8, and Rylee, 6.
“It was cool that we’re one of only a few people who got to touch it,” Avery said.
Asked what it was like for her to touch the cup, Rylee responded, “It felt hard,” prompting laughter from her dad.
Lukas Allahand, 10, and his 6-year-old brother, Jakob, were lucky enough to join Stevens for a photo op with the trophy. Their mother, Michelle Allahand, of Feasterville, Pa., beamed as her sons posed for pictures with the coach.
“It’s cool. I was really surprised we could do this,” Lukas said.
Jakob, who was initially too shy to answer questions from his mom about how he felt touching the shiny Stanley Cup, smiled and said, “It was awesome.”
