Now the 28-year-old stood in a facility not far from the old arena where he had played as a child, sharing the trophy with children who had the same dream as he once had.

“Honestly, I get teary-eyed just thinking about it,” his father Dave Ekblad said with tears in his eyes. “It’s been an emotional rollercoaster. It’s been a long, long road. Injuries. A ton of other things. This is the culmination of it all. Not everyone gets the chance to do this. It’s been an incredible journey.”

Ekblad posed for fan photos with the trophy from 9 a.m. until he was with everyone around 10:45 a.m. He didn’t sign autographs. On the way out, the kids got a signed 5×7 photo of Ekblad lifting the trophy. To make sure the line kept moving, he had signed 1,000 photos in advance.

A 12-year-old defenseman named Owen Sutton wore a Sun County Panthers jersey that looked like a Florida Panthers jersey, with “SUN COUNTY” on the crest where “FLORIDA” would normally be.

“He’s kind of my idol because we played on the same team as kids and we’re both defenders,” Sutton said.

After meeting Ekblad in person, Sutton walked into the lobby. There was a life-size photo of Ekblad lifting the trophy, with his head cut out. Sutton stuck his head through and smiled for a photo.

“It’s really cool to see him and I know that could be me one day,” Sutton said.