Although soccer is a priority for most WIS students, the question of who is going to win the Stanley Cup this year is still important for many. Following Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin’s record-breaking season, heated debates about the National Hockey League’s best team can be heard walking through Davies Hall.
In mid-May, during the Conference semi-finals round of the playoffs, the teams still fighting are: the Carolina Hurricanes, the Washington Capitals, the Florida Panthers, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Winnipeg Jets, the Dallas Stars, the Edmonton Oilers, and the Vegas Golden Knights.
After speaking with two avid hockey watchers in the eleventh grade, it’s clear there are a variety of opinions on which teamwill emerge victorious this season. Being from Denver, the Colorado Avalanche are my favorite team, but it is clear that there are varying favorites among the WIS community.
Sports enthusiast and junior Bramm Rubin takes a different approach to the prospective Stanley Cup winner for 2025. He strongly believes that the Dallas Stars will lift Lord Stanley’s Cup this summer. Rubin even made strong predictions for the specific games.
“In the second round, they’re gonna plow through the Winnipeg Jets,” Rubin said. “I think with how Miko Rantanen is playing right now […] I don’t really see how they can’t at least go to the Stanley Cup.”
But this is not the universal opinion. Junior Patrick Kauffman, an ice hockey player and avid fan, believes it will be between the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Kauffman argues that the Golden Knights have many experienced players and a Stanley Cup-winning team (2023) that is still relatively intact. However, in regards to individual players, Kauffman notes the importance of new signing, Brad Marchand, to the lineup of Panthers players. Winning the Stanley Cup requires grit and determination, so Marchand’s joining adds an important element to the team.
“He might not be the best player skill-wise, [but]he’s an important player to have for the playoffs because he can block shots and play dirty,” Kauffman said.
What about the Hart Memorial Trophy?
The Hart Memorial Trophy is an award given to the most valuable player of the regular season. This year’s finalists are: Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning. There is a general consensus that Leon Draisaitl should win because of his goal-scoring ability. Even Kauffman and Rubin both agreed with this.
“Draisaitl stepped up, and I think Draisaitl is gonna win the Hart, given everything he’s done for Edmonton,” Rubin said.
Rubin believes that a goaltender is unlikely to win, given the history of the winners of the Hart Memorial Trophy, and adds that Draisaitl has led Edmonton when Captain Connor McDavid has struggled. In fact, Draisaitl outscored McDavid this season with 56 goals to McDavid’s 26. Therefore, Rubin understands the significance of Leon Draisaitl for the Oilers this season.
As the second round of the playoffs comes to a close, the battle to land in the Stanley Cup finals wages on, and the remaining teams look to continue playing in June.
By Carter Samuel