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Andrei Svechnikov will celebrate this Stanley Cup victory for a long time.
Making their eighth straight playoff appearance, the Carolina Hurricanes finally overcame the obstacle and brought the Cup back to North Carolina for the first time since 2006.
The first stop on Svechnikov’s celebration tour was a Raleigh Raising Cane’s, where he was able to take photos, sign autographs and serve combo boxes to some Caniacs, both food and the team.
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Andrei Svechnikov celebrated his Stanley Cup victory with Carolina Hurricanes fans at Raising Cane’s. (raising the cane)
Fans had waited a long time and endured years of end-of-season heartbreak to get the Cup back, while Svechnikov had a front-row seat to it all.
The second overall pick by the Canes (not the Raising) in the 2018 NHL Draft, Svechnikov has never missed the playoffs. But he still lost his last match of the season.
Three times this happened in the Eastern Conference Finals; three more times it was in the semi-finals, and the other time it was in the first round.
Of course, Svechnikov would appreciate this title no matter when it comes. But knowing that he’s been so close so many times, he definitely appreciates it a little more.
Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes holds the Stanley Cup after winning Game 6 against the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 14, 2026. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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“I just think about everything we went through, all the hard work we put in and, you know, we got knocked out in every playoff, it was kind of a kick in the butt every time,” Svechnikov told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview.
“But we knew at some point we were going to win the Stanley Cup, and that was that year. So, you know, we were very excited and we did it this year.”
It wasn’t easy: the Vegas Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead in the series and seemed well on their way to their second Cup in their brief history.
But for Svechnikov, there was never any doubt.
Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes poses on the ice with confetti after Game 6 of the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 14, 2026. (Ben Jackson/NHLI via Getty Images)
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“We knew what we had in the locker room, in each other. We had each other’s backs, the coaching staff did such a good job preparing us for every game, and we kind of took off after that.”
