Aho, Brind’Amour left reflective after Canes ‘awesome’ Stanley Cup celebration

When the final horn sounded on the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup championship, the players at the bench quickly hopped over the boards en masse to let the partying begin in Las Vegas.

All but Sebastian Aho. He turned in the opposite direction.

Aho’s first move was to jump back behind the bench and wrap Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour in a big hug, squeezing tight, not letting go. It was a scene that went viral on social media, one that resonated with so many hockey and sports fans after the Canes turned back the Vegas Golden Knights for the Cup in six games.

Aho smiled Saturday when the hug was mentioned during an interview. Aho was wearing a pair of sunglasses he likely has shed very little this past week as the Canes awaited a victory parade that brought an estimated 150,000 people for a wild celebration on the downtown Raleigh streets.

“I was trying to get to the ice and I looked back and Roddy was right there,” Aho said. “It’s just a moment, but Roddy is everything for this organization. We’ve been through quite a bit together, and I’m very happy for him. All of us really, but especially for him.

“It’s such a different feeling this year. But it was all worth it.”

It was Brind’Amour who was reluctant at first to allow Aho to play center, believing his size and skills were better suited on the wing. But Aho would play center. The Finn earned his coach’s trust. He developed into one of the league’s best players the past decade and an NHL All-Star.

Jordan Staal, Jaccob Slavin, Jordan Martinook, Andrei Svechnikov and Aho became something of a fab five in the eight years Brind’Amour has been the head coach. It has been the leadership core of the team, one Brind’Amour found reliable.

The group always believed a Stanley Cup was there to be won and one day would be won, Aho would say. Adding to that desire this season was having the 2006 Cup champions, the team one captained by Brind’Amour, back to be honored and recognized at Lenovo Center.

The ‘06 guys had a special feel to them, Aho said. Yes, their names were on the Stanley Cup together but there was more to it. Twenty years had passed, but it was still so tight a group. It was palpable.

“We got a little taste of it when they came in and we partied with them,” Aho said Saturday, referring to last December’s 20th anniversary celebration “You could just see how close they are. That was cool to see that.

“And now we get to experience it ourselves. They were already, every single one, my brothers, but this definitely was even more of a bonding together.”

In looking back at the playoff run, Aho quickly mentioned Staal, the captain, accepting a challenge to fight Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk seconds after the opening draw of the first game. Staal accepted it and won.

“Oh, my God, Jordo, game one, round one,” Aho said. “He sets a tone for the rest of the group, that we’re not taking any steps back. That was special. We were all riding on the high from it.”

It lasted through series wins against the Sens, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens and then Vegas in the Cup Final. It ended in Las Vegas, with the Canes taking a 3-0 win in Game 6 to clinch the Cup. And Aho having his moment with his coach.

They were all together Saturday on a stage at City Plaza, players and coaches, looking out at all the fans jam packed into the Fayetteville Street corridor back to the Capitol.

Aho noted Staal had said during the week that the scene would be crazy Saturday.

“He was saying how awesome it was going to be, and I knew it would be, but this is something else,” Aho said. “It’s my bad not taking his word, because he’s always right. Always listen to ‘El Jefe” aka Jordan Staal.”

Brind’Amour could only shake his head, saying he was in shock by the turnout.

“I’m kind of speechless,” he said. “I did not expect that. It was just wave on wave of people, and enthusiastic. It kind of blew me away. This is why we do this. It meant so much to so many people.

“And this group of players. I’m so happy for them. They’re world champs. … This is going to be motivation to do it again, for sure. The carrot was always there. We hadn’t done it, hadn’t done it, and now that we have done I’m sure the guys will be motivated to do it again.”

In 2006, after beating the Edmonton Oilers in the Cup Final, the Canes’ paraded around the arena in convertibles, then mounted a stage for a few words from coach Peter Laviolette and then Brind’Amour.

“At the start of the year we wanted to make you proud of this team and I think we did that,” Brind’Amour said in the 2006 celebration. “I want to say we go and try and do it again.”

Reminded Saturday of that “do it again” comment in 2006, Brind’Amour grinned.

“It took too long,” he quipped.

This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 4:47 PM.

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

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In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.