Cup final say

If you were a hockey kid in Wood River Valley, you'll never forget Lord Stanley's Vist

I guess it was all about camaraderie and purpose. Two of the legends of Sun Valley suns hockey, Cub and Hunts, members of the so-called Mount Rushmore according to the creative Kurt Wenzell, succeeded in generating huge buzz and decent dollars for the life and health of high end amateur hockey in the Wood River Valley. It is difficult to quantify what was accomplished at this writing, but I suspect years from now that August 21 and 22, 2011 will be the genesis of a Suns renaissance. If a new skating rink is constructed in the next few years, it will be no coincidence.

Hunts and Cub, 50-something hockey loving lifers, opposite sides of the same coin, shared in all chores in this immaculate production that resulted in, yes by all estimates, 10,000 photos of Lord Stanley. All the cool cats, plenty of rich nerds dining outside the Duchin room. and most important, EVERY hockey kid got their moment (or two) with Lord Stanley. In the 14 miles from working class Bellevue to the Sun Valley Resort, not one place was missed, and some were found. And in the wake of the silver 1966 convertible Mustang was a flowing river of smiles and good will, none wider than contemporaries of Cub n Hunts, the setting Suns that had convened for a national hockey championship tournament 5 months prior. To reunite again solidified a camaraderie forged by hockey with a magical 24-hour Cup date. It was the ultimate Flomax commercial, baby-boomer bliss, our own beer commercial, only better.

Keep an eye out for hockey prospects coming out of the Wood River Valley over the next decade, the ripples from this visit by Lord Stanley will surely resonate.