"When I grew up I had a picture on my wall of the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, the Stanley Cup team," he said. "My dream was to be one day in the picture wearing that jersey."
The Avalanche's final steps to making that dream come true is detailed in the final episode of the seventh season of "Quest For The Stanley Cup."
The episode, which is available on ESPN+ in the United States and YouTube/NHL in Canada, shows the final games of the Stanley Cup Final between the Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It starts with each team preparing for Game 4 at Amalie Arena, with the Lightning down 2-1 in the best-of-7 series. During his pregame locker room speech, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper encourages his players, "Win your shift." But it's Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri who wins the game, scoring in overtime in his series debut after missing the first three games with a broken thumb.
Kadri called his night, "a roller coaster of emotions, thinking I was done. Sitting here now, it's surreal."
The stress of the series is offset by the players living away from the ice.
Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram enjoys games with his parents, who are living with him during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
For Lightning forward Corey Perry, it's mini-sticks in the living room with his 4-year-old son, Griffin.
Perry lost to the Lightning in the Cup Final in 2020 with the Dallas Stars and last season with the Montreal Canadiens. But when the Lightning offered a two-year contract last summer, he signed right away.
"Then I got a phone call from [Lightning captain Steven Stamkos] that day saying 'We're not done, we're still hungry and we want to win more,'" Perry said. "That stuck with me since the day I signed, and I won't forget that."
The Lightning won Game 5 to extend the series. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, addressing his team before Game 6 in Tampa, said, "I'm sick of hearing about the Tampa Bay Lightning."
A few hours later, all anyone wanted to talk about was the Avalanche.
