When the Stanley Cup arrived at Seaforth and Area Fire Department, St. Louis Blues centre Ryan O’Reilly walked directly to his grandmother, Deirdre O’Reilly, to share the moment.
“It was just a wonderful feeling when I saw him,” the 99-year-old said. “I wanted to squeeze the life out of him,” said O’Reilly, whose grandson credits her for his competitive streak.
“We did it, we got it done.” Ryan O’Reilly is seeing his 99-yr-old grandma, Deirdre, for the first time since the big win. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/stlblues?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#stlblues</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/stanleycup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#stanleycup</a> <a href=”https://t.co/PqKDwwv0NX”>pic.twitter.com/PqKDwwv0NX</a>
—@allisondev
Deirdre O’Reilly wore a jewelled tiara, “something they plunked on my head,” with ”Granny O’Reilly” handwritten on the front.
“I knew they put something on but I didn’t know my name was up there. I’m advertised well, aren’t I?” she said.
O’Reilly has the Stanley Cup for 24 hours on Thursday. He bought it home to Seaforth and Goderich, Ont. for two parades and photo ops. O’Reilly also brought home the Conn Smythe Trophy and Frank J. Selke Trophy as he led the Blues past the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final.
“It’s just one of those indescribable moments, you’re so proud of him,” said Mark Chaput, whose son played hockey with O’Reilly.
“I remember him almost getting frostbitten at our house because he wouldn’t come off the ice in the backyard,” said his wife, Glenda Chaput.
She was overcome with emotion while watching O’Reilly hoist the cup in his hometown.
“It was awesome, because he worked so hard for it,” she said.
