On Tuesday evening the Las Vegas Golden Knights team hoisted the Stanley Cup after they eliminated the Florida Panthers in the fifth and final game of the playoffs. Although Las Vegas is well over 2,000 kilometres from Airdrie, the degrees of separation between the Stanley Cup champions and the city are much closer than most would think.

The current assistant coach of the Knights, Ryan Craig happens to also be cousins with Airdrie resident Jeff Leahaul.

"We got to the chance to see him hoisting the Stanley Cup on T.V. on Tuesday night; a neat little connection here for Airdrie," he said. "We definitely set special time aside in order to watch the game on Tuesday."

Lehaul jested that just as Craig was meant to be interviewed on T.V., cameras cut away from him to another player, but happily he said he managed to catch his cousin revelling in Stanley Cup glory on another channel. 

He said he fondly remembers when his cousin would often come to visit family in Airdrie, especially during the Christmas holidays.

"We had a full house - there were probably 18 people in our little house in Summer Hill. We were also just a block away from Nose Creek and so Ryan, who was nine years old at the time, was really into hockey," Lehaul said. "He was really just in heaven because he could just walk down to Nose Creek and go skating and shoot; shoot the puck around anytime he wanted."

Craig's childhood pond hockey games would see him flourish in the sport. Originally from Abbotsford, British Columbia, he participated in minor hockey and would start his career in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Brandon Wheat Kings. During the 2000-2001 season, Craig was named MVP of the team, leading the team in scoring. 

Craig's foray into the National Hockey League came when he was drafted in 2002 by the Tampa Bay Lightning (255th overall). He spent seven seasons with the Lightning before moving on to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"Our family is pretty close and we've definitely followed his career as he's progressed through the NHL and AHL and then his coaching with Las Vegas," Lehaul added.

When Lehaul was asked if there were to be a Calgary Flames match-up against the Las Vegas Knights during the Stanley Cup finals, Lehaul said choosing to cheer for which side would be a very, very difficult decision.

"I think it would basically be a win-win - if the flames won great and if Ryan won it well, that's definitely a silver lining for us."

Las Vegas began the Stanley Cup final series winning two of the first games against the Florida Panthers. The Panthers managed to win the third game, though Vegas swept the final two. 19 of the players on the Knights' team are Canadian born, including Calgarian Brett Howden, who plays center. The 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Vegas Golden Knight Jonathan Marchessault, is also Canadian.

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