Hainsey’s Cup To Runneth Over in Bolton

Bolton native Ron Haisley, a member of the Stanley Cup champion
Pittsburgh Penquins, will be back in his hometown on Monday
bringing along the Stanley Cup for friends and fans to enjoy.

By Bob Phillips

BOLTON–It’s become a tradition that members of the NHL champions share the Stanley Cup with their hometown family and friends, and so it is that Connecticut sports fans are about to get a chance to set their eyes on the oldest, most venerated trophy in professional sports. Ron Hainsey, who grew up playing at the Bolton Ice Palace, earned the right to bring the Cup home after playing with the world champion Pittsburg Penguins last year—albeit briefly. The Bolton Ice Palace is home to the Eastern Connecticut Hockey Organization (ECHO) and many area high school hockey teams.

The Stanley Cup is the only major team trophy with winners’ names engraved on it. Indeed, The Cup lists players, team owners, presidents, general managers, coaches, assistant coaches, and trainers—more than 2,200 names in all—including 12 women. The first distaff member to become part of the tradition was Marguerite Norris when she was president of the Detroit Red Wings in 1954.

Hainsey, who was drafted No. 13 overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2000 out of UMass-Lowell, will now have his name forevermore etched on Sir Stanley’s Cup. The 6-3, 210-lb. defenseman, however, will not have the opportunity to repeat as champion—not with the Penguins, that is. After being dealt to the Pens from the Carolina Whalers—I mean Hurricanes (sorry, bad habit)—last February, Hainsey became a classic “rent-a-player.” After reaching the pinnacle of his sport in Pittsburgh, he quickly played out his contract and signed a two-year $6 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs over the summer.

Ironically, last season marked Hainsey’s first-ever Stanley Cup playoff appearance. He may very well be the answer to a trivia question one day: Name the NHL player to have put in the longest amount of time (14 seasons, 907 games) before reaching his first postseason game.

Besides Montreal, Pittsburgh and Carolina, Hainsey has also done NHL stints with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Winnipeg Jets, and Atlanta Thrashers, as well as the Quebec Citadelles and Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL. A 17-year pro, Hainsey was named to the American Hockey League’s All-Rookie team in 2002, and played in the 2003 Calder Cup Finals with Hamilton vs. the Houston Aeros—a team most famous for featuring the late, great Gordie Howe and his three sons on the same team when the Aeros were members of the upstart World Hockey Association (WHA), then a rival to the NHL.

The hometown hero and his precious cargo will be available for a meet-and-greet with the public at the Bolton Ice Palace from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Monday.

—with staff reports