A century ago, the Victoria Cougars triumphed over the defending champion Montreal Canadiens to win Lord Stanley's Cup in Oak Bay’s Patrick Arena on March 30.
Fast forward to 2025, the Century Celebration celebrated this historic event with three days of festivities at Oak Bay Rec.
The event kicked off on Thursday (March 27) with live music and continued through the weekend, culminating in the Cup’s showcase on March 30.
Aside from having the chance to pose beside the silver championship trophy, hockey fans were able to play floor hockey, buy food from nearby food trucks, enjoy live performances, and browse through historical moments of the Cougars’ short but successful history.
One of the event’s unexpected highlights was how it brought out and connected some of the community’s best stories.
“My father, Bob Barlow, played for the Vancouver Canucks and the Minnesota Wild,” event organizer Heidi Barlow-Lee said. “Off our website, we got a note from the brother of Milan Marcetta.”
Milan, who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1967 after the team defeated the Montreal Canadiens in six games. Following his passing in 2014, Milan’s brother reached out to Barlow-Lee for a chance to see his late brother’s name on the Cup.
The brother and Barlow-Lee’s father fortunately had the chance to meet for the event, glance at the cup together and exchange a few stories.
“You have all these really cool stories coming out of the community and bringing all these guys together,” said Barlow-Lee.
With hundreds lining up to see the cup, Barlow-Lee said she and her team hadn’t anticipated such a large turnout, estimating over 5,000 attendees.
“It's nice to see this turn out and it’s so special to so many people for so many different reasons,” she said. “It's the community celebration that we wanted. Everybody's out here, it's a lovely day, and everybody's happy.”
Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch was in the crowd and echoed Barlow-Lee’s sentiment.
“We've built up this event over the last year to make this date, and it’s all come together amazingly,” said Murdoch. “It’s one of the largest community events that we've had in Oak Bay in a very long time.”
Murdock explained that this long-awaited event was made possible through a partnership with the Victoria Hockey League Society, the District of Oak Bay and the dedication of more than 50 volunteers.
“It's fabulous just to have a chance to see the Stanley Cup, and for a lot of people, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be present with the Stanley Cup.”
For Sidney resident Chris Sherwood and his son, it was the perfect opportunity to share a memorable father-son experience.
“I've never seen the cup, and my son's playing hockey for the first time this year, so it just made perfect sense to come down and see the Stanley Cup,” said Sherwood. “It's amazing.”
Even after waiting in line for over an hour, the father said it was well worth it.
“My family has always loved hockey, so to see the Stanley Cup is a pretty big thing.”
