Ten Questions with Phil Pritchard, the Keeper of The Stanley Cup

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ESPN.com news services
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May 31, 2016, 1:16 PM ET
2 min read

Sometime between now and June 15, Phil Pritchard will walk the Stanley Cup out on the postgame red carpet and present it, with his gleaming white gloves, to either the Pittsburgh Penguins or San Jose Sharks. "I never get tired of seeing the reaction the Cup gets," says Pritchard, the Cup's official keeper since 1988. "There's pure exhaustion, joy ... every emotion possible. And they get to see it on the ice in front of 20,000 people." After the official presentation, the real fun begins, as each member of the winning team gets quality time with the Cup -- and Pritchard will be along for the ride to serve as chaperone, sounding board and, sometimes, taste tester. Here, in his own words, are some of his favorite memories of being the Cup's companion.

The Cup's curfew is ...

I clean the Cup every ...

My favorite fact about the Cup is ...

When I'm not with the Cup I'm ...

The weirdest thing anyone has put in the Cup was ...

Tomas Kopecky took the Cup to Slovakia to ...

The worst Cup-related mishap to happen on my watch was ...

The best place I've visited with the Cup was ...

One place I wish I could take the Cup is ...

Of the 27 finals I've covered, the one that stands out was ...

Sometime between now and June 15, Phil Pritchard will walk the Stanley Cup out on the postgame red carpet and present it, with his gleaming white gloves, to either the Pittsburgh Penguins or San Jose Sharks. "I never get tired of seeing the reaction the Cup gets," says Pritchard, the Cup's official keeper since 1988. "There's pure exhaustion, joy ... every emotion possible. And they get to see it on the ice in front of 20,000 people." After the official presentation, the real fun begins, as each member of the winning team gets quality time with the Cup -- and Pritchard will be along for the ride to serve as chaperone, sounding board and, sometimes, taste tester. Here, in his own words, are some of his favorite memories of being the Cup's companion.

The Cup's curfew is ...

I clean the Cup every ...

My favorite fact about the Cup is ...

When I'm not with the Cup I'm ...

The weirdest thing anyone has put in the Cup was ...

Tomas Kopecky took the Cup to Slovakia to ...

The worst Cup-related mishap to happen on my watch was ...

The best place I've visited with the Cup was ...

One place I wish I could take the Cup is ...

Of the 27 finals I've covered, the one that stands out was ...