MARINE CORPS CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- After recently becoming National Hockey League champions, three players from the Anaheim Ducks came here June 18 with the most prized possession in ice hockey: the Stanley Cup.
As Scott Niedermayer, Dustin Penner and Chris Kunitz signed autographs, people swarmed the Cup, touching and kissing the oldest trophy competed for by professional athletes in North America.
“It’s nice to bring the Cup to where you have fans,” said Kunitz, a 27-year old left wingman from Regina, Saskatchewan. “Maybe give the people here a break from the serious nature of their work. Joke around a little bit, sign a few autographs, and give them a look at the Stanley Cup.”
Spending their morning learning about, and riding in, an Amphibious Assault Vehicle, the players spent time talking to Marines about weapons, the military and hockey.
“We wanted to see what it is actually like (to be in the military),” said Penner, a 24-year-old right wingman from Winkler, Manitoba.