{"id":6607,"date":"2015-02-17T16:17:08","date_gmt":"2015-02-17T22:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=6607"},"modified":"2015-02-17T16:17:08","modified_gmt":"2015-02-17T22:17:08","slug":"stanley-cup-champs-enjoy-wolves-reunion-eye-another-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/stanley-cup-champs-enjoy-wolves-reunion-eye-another-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Stanley Cup champs enjoy Wolves’ reunion, eye another championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sara Romano<\/p>\n

Adam Burish had a mischievous grin on his face when he talked about the days following the Blackhawks\u2019 Stanley Cup victory in 2010<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll always remember that night, and some of the following nights,\u201d he said. \u201cThey all kind of blur together. The night we won \u2026 coming back to Chicago \u2026 the parade. \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon further prompting, Burish continued his reminiscing aloud, recalling the team\u2019s arrival back into Chicago after clinching the Cup.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came right back to the airport [that night],\u201d he said. \u201cThere were fire trucks and they had the hoses going and the plane sort of drove through the hoses. There were people everywhere. They had a separate plane for our families, so we saw them right away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe night just kind of went from there and turned into the morning and turned into the next day and the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former Hawks forward became the latest member of the Stanley Cup champion team to join the Wolves<\/a> when he was acquired on loan from the San Jose Sharks last month, joining Ben Eager, Colin Fraser and Brent Sopel on the roster.<\/p>\n

Though all four said they harbor dreams of a return to the NHL and a shot at another Stanley Cup, for now the group is enjoying its reunion and the chance to play together once again.<\/p>\n

Getting the gang back together<\/h1>\n

It all started with Sopel, who was living in Chicago and skated with the Wolves over the summer to stay in shape. General manager Wendell Young saw enough left in the 38-year-old defenseman to invite him to training camp. Sopel impressed during camp, and Young offered him a spot on the roster<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to play this game as long as I can,\u201d said Sopel, also a Sports Sunday contributor for NBC-Ch. 5 . \u201cOnce you stop playing, you can never go back and play again. It\u2019s one day at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fraser, a 30-year-old center, signed a free-agent deal<\/a> with the St. Louis Blues in the offseason and has spent the majority of the season with the Wolves after being sidelined with an upper-body injury.<\/p>\n

Eager, Fraser\u2019s 31-year-old former linemate, joined the team in mid-December<\/a>, signed fresh off a brief stint in the Russian professional hockey league.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Burish, Eager and I] kind of all play a similar game,\u201d Fraser said. \u201cWe played together before and we know kind of what to expect from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Burish\u2019s first game with the Wolves, a Jan. 16 contest against the Lake Erie Monsters, the trio played on a line together once again in a 5-1 Chicago loss.<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/a>
Former Blackhawks now playing for the AHL Chicago Wolves. (Sara Romano\/Medill).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Veteran presence<\/h1>\n

Young insisted that signing four former Blackhawks had nothing to do with selling tickets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not just signing them because they are ex-Hawks,\u201d Young said. \u201cThat\u2019s the last thing I do. I need to put a team together, and that\u2019s what they bring to the table. It\u2019s not my job to sell tickets. It\u2019s my job to put a good team on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson echoed that sentiment.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeriously, it was never a plan,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are trying to find arguably the best players out there, and they happen to be Hawks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether a coincidence or not, there is no denying that the recognizable names help boost the popularity of the AHL franchise. The winning mentality and NHL experience they bring with them don\u2019t hurt either.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been our philosophy to have some older guys with NHL experience, whether they come from the Hawks or not,\u201d Anderson explained. \u201cWe like to have older guys around, players who have won, guys who have excelled at what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former Hawks prefer to lead by example, but said they are happy to share any knowledge or advice they might have with the Wolves\u2019 younger players.<\/p>\n

Burish recalled pestering NHL veteran Marty LaPointe<\/a> for stories about winning the Stanley Cup in Detroit including what LaPointe drank from the Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, that motivated me and got me excited,\u201d he said. \u201cFor other guys, I would assume it does the same. Hearing those things, stories about guys winning a Cup, and the things that come with it. The bonds and friendships that come with winning a championship — I think that can be motivating to other guys in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sopel shared the view that hearing about the highs and lows of what it takes to win a championship can be beneficial to young prospects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more winners you have in your room, the better it is,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause they\u2019ve been there, they know what it takes to win. [We are] trying to bring our knowledge to that dressing room and our experiences, and pass it along to these kids.<\/p>\n

Wolves All-Star Ty Rattie, a 22-year-old St. Louis Blues prospect said sharing a locker room with the four has been \u201cunbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve won the Stanley Cup,” Rattie said. “They\u2019ve been where everyone here wants to be \u2026 They\u2019ve been big for our team and they are a huge help for me\u201d.<\/p>\n

Not done yet<\/h1>\n

Although the veteran players are glad for a chance to reminisce about their championship season, they said they are by no means content to call it a career or accept an advising role.<\/p>\n

They all admitted that the opportunity to reunite with former teammates was too good to pass up.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, it\u2019s just fun to be back in the locker room with them again,\u201d Burish said. \u201cWhen you win a championship, there is a special bond that everyone says [happens], and its true. It\u2019s fun to be on the ice together too, but for me it\u2019s just being around them everyday.\u201d<\/p>\n

While they recall the good times and the memories that came from the 2010 season, all four have their eyes on another championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what level you are playing in, you want to win,\u201d Sopel said.<\/p>\n

As the Wolves eye a Calder Cup this season, the veteran foursome will certainly be an asset. But that still is not the ultimate goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven us, being older, we are all trying to make the NHL\u201d Fraser said. \u201cThe dream never really ends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at Top: The 2014-2015 Chicago Wolves’ roster includes four members of the 2010 Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. From left to right, Adam Burish, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser and Brent Sopel. (Ross Dettman\/Chicago Wolves).<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sara Romano Adam Burish had a mischievous grin on his face when he talked about the days following the Blackhawks\u2019 Stanley Cup victory in 2010. \u201cI\u2019ll always remember that night, and some of the following nights,\u201d he said. \u201cThey all kind of blur together. The night we won \u2026 coming back to Chicago \u2026 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":6609,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-winter-2015"],"yoast_head":"\nStanley Cup champs enjoy Wolves' reunion, eye another championship - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/stanley-cup-champs-enjoy-wolves-reunion-eye-another-championship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stanley Cup champs enjoy Wolves' reunion, eye another championship - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Sara Romano Adam Burish had a mischievous grin on his face when he talked about the days following the Blackhawks\u2019 Stanley Cup victory in 2010. \u201cI\u2019ll always remember that night, and some of the following nights,\u201d he said. \u201cThey all kind of blur together. 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