St. John’s native Travis Crickard takes Memorial Cup on tour of his hometown
As a youngster, Travis Crickard would often visit Leo’s Restaurant and Take-out in the heart of St. John’s.
Sometimes it was with his family and other times he’d be finishing up a Saturday afternoon hockey practice and decide to come down for a bit to eat.
It became his favourite place for fish and chips in a city full of excellent options.
Now, years later, Crickard was back at Leo’s and this time he brought with him the Memorial Cup, major junior hockey’s top prize.
“It is really, really special. I couldn’t wait,” he said. “I think the last four days, that’s kind of all I thought about, to the detriment of parental responsibilities and house chores, and I think my mind was kind of elsewhere.
“It was simply on the idea of having the chance to bring it home and share with my family, but just people around Newfoundland and places that I’ve loved to come and go, growing up.”
The 35-year-old was an assistant coach with Saint John Sea Dogs when they defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs in the final of the 2022 Memorial Cup championship on home ice just over a month ago.
Saint John became the first host team to win the Memorial Cup since the Windsor Spitfires won it in 2017.
Since the Sea Dogs won, the cup has been on a tour of the Atlantic provinces and Quebec, and now it is Crickard’s turn to bring the trophy to some of the places that mean the most to him in his hometown.
Before he raised the Memorial Cup to the sky on the sidewalk in front of Leo’s and then plunked it on the front counter while he ordered a late lunch, Crickard made a stop at the Confederation Building for a visit with Premier Andrew Furey.
For him, it was unexpected, but welcome.
“I just think it was going to be something really special to be able to look back on,” said Crickard.
It is a bit of a tradition to eat something out of the bowl at the top of the Memorial Cup. Sea Dogs members have eaten poutine, cereal and ice cream out of it already, and Crickard wasn’t going to be outdone.
He chose fish and chips, with dressing and gravy, to eat out of the trophy. Topping it with salt and vinegar, Crickard dug in.
It was everything he was waiting for.
When Crickard was ready to leave Leo’s, the cup was bound for a couple of hockey camps, where he was going to show it to some eager young hockey players. He planned to work some time on top of Signal Hill with it as well.
On Wednesday, Aug. 3, he and the trophy will make a stop at the Royal St. John’s Regatta before hitting up some more hockey camps.
“Just thinking about some of the people that were there who coached me growing up that were still there, and then be able to bring it back and share with them will be kind of special as well,” said Crickard