OHHF in the News

This article originally appeared at:
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.stanleycup1aug24,0,7243818.story

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Loaner from Lord Stanley: Native brings NHL's trophy cup to Darien
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By Jeff Morganteen
Special Correspondent

August 24, 2007

DARIEN - Ryan Shannon had a good year.

The 24-year-old Darien native was called up by the NHL's Anaheim Ducks last year after an impressive preseason, and he notched 2 goals and 9 assists during the regular season. But that was just the beginning.

"I went from playing in a minor league team, and then, in October, I found myself playing on an NHL team," Shannon said. "That was a dream come true. Then, to score my first NHL goal, that was unbelievable.

"I never thought it would get any better than that," he said.

But it did - Shannon and the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in June, and, as is tradition with NHL champions, each team member was given 24 hours with the storied trophy. Shannon spent his day with Lord Stanley's Cup yesterday.

After bringing the cup to the Darien Police Department, Shannon rolled into the Darien Ice Rink's parking lot with a police escort as hundreds of fans waited along the rink's perimeter for a glimpse of the trophy.

Shannon emerged from his car wearing a Ducks' jersey and hoisted the cup above his head, in a scene reminiscent of the night the Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators in the NHL finals.

Shannon brought the Stanley Cup to the rink - his youth hockey proving ground - for a fundraiser for the Obie Harrington-Howes Foundation, an organization dedicated to assisting those with spinal cord injuries.

A silent auction of Shannon memorabilia and individual donations raised $5,720.

Obie Harrington-Howes, Shannon's first youth hockey coach, suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury in 1996 in a swimming accident. Harrington-Howes said it was Shannon's idea to use the cup as a foundation fundraiser.

"Everyone knows that if you win the Stanley Cup, you get a day with the cup," Harrington-Howes said. "And he told his parents that if it came to pass, this is what he wanted to do. His dad told me after he won the cup, and I was so emotional. I still am. I've been right on the edge all day."

Harrington-Howes said he has watched his former players play in college, but never expected to watch one of them win the Stanley Cup.

"When you're coaching kids, you're just trying to make them enjoy the game and have a life love of hockey," he said. "We've always told parents, don't expect your kid to play Division I. Win the Stanley Cup? Come on, that's fantasy land.

"There are pro hockey players who play for 15, 20 years and never win the Stanley Cup, and (Shannon) wins one his first season," he said.

Shannon, who was traded to the Vancouver Canucks shortly after winning the cup, said playing this past season alongside NHL superstars such as Teemu Selanne and Chris Pronger has been surreal.

"We were looking at the season DVD last night, and it was amazing to relive those moments," he said. "It seemed like a dream."

For the hundreds of fans yesterday, the cup was a vivid reality. Billy Santora, 11, of Stamford, was one of the many young hockey players who came to see and touch hockey's holy grail.

"It was cool," Santora said. "All the great players have touched it."

The last time the Stanley Cup made its way to Fairfield County was last March, when it was used at the Outdoor Life Network studio in Stamford.

It also was paraded through West Putnam Avenue in Greenwich in June 1994, when former New York Rangers head coach Mike Keenan brought it there after his team's historic championship that year.

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