Stanley Cup is show-stopper ahead of NHL China Games

SHENZHEN, China -- Attached to the handle of the Stanley Cup's carrying case was a luggage tag marked "PEK," the designation for Beijing Capital International Airport. The Cup was bound for China, a first for the most famous trophy in sports, adding yet another passport stamp for Lord Stanley.

No. 27, in fact.
After the Washington Capitals won the Cup in June, the trophy spent the summer on the road, visiting Canada, the United States and Europe. Denmark became the 26th country to host the Cup when forward Lars Eller had his day with the trophy on Aug. 8. Now the Cup is in China; after starting in Beijing, it traveled to Hong Kong and on to Shenzhen, where it was displayed at the NHL Fan Fest on Thursday ahead of the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games.
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The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames will play two preseason games; the first is Saturday in Shenzhen (2:30 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN) and the second in Beijing on Wednesday (7:30 a.m. ET; NBCSN, SN).
The Cup and its keeper, Phil Pritchard, arrived in China on Saturday, flying into Beijing. Then came the biggest adventure for the trophy during its visit: a trip to the Great Wall of China.
"Apparently there are 86 countries around the world that play hockey, so we're pretty close to a third, almost," Pritchard said. "It's pretty cool, especially when you go to a country that has arguably one of the greatest wonders of the world and you get to put [the Cup] on it. To see it, it's pretty special."
Special for him. Special for the Cup. And special for the tourists who suddenly found themselves in the presence of multiple examples of greatness. On the Great Wall, Pritchard witnessed North Americans and Germans and Finns and Swedes, all stopped dead in their tracks, shocked to see where the Stanley Cup had landed.

"I was surprised how many tourists knew what it was," Pritchard said. "It's probably one of the biggest tourist places in the world, so there was people from all over the place and it was neat to see their reaction because they looked at it, then they walked away, then they came back."
They shared their journeys with Pritchard; where they'd come from and where they were going.
It was much the same in the rest of China after the Cup and Pritchard took the bullet train down to Hong Kong and then came over to Shenzhen ahead of the China Games.
"It's a very technology-friendly young city, [and] through the efforts of the internet, people understand what it all is," Pritchard said. "The people that aren't sure of it, they're on their phones pretty quick to understand what it is. But you do see the passionate people as well. They've generally got a smile on their face, and that's what makes it great."
What made it even better were the number of people Pritchard met who weren't just sneaking a peak at the Cup but already had tickets to the game Saturday in Shenzhen.
"Yesterday and this morning in Hong Kong, I was pleasantly surprised how many people came and got photos and then they said, 'We'll see you Saturday, we're going to the game.' Which was great," he said. "I think the hockey community here, although it's growing, the ones that are fans, they're fans. They'll go anywhere."
And as for country No. 28?
"I don't know," Pritchard said. "I don't know what it's going to be."