As a 22-year-old rookie defenseman, Sean Hill sipped from the Stanley Cup. It proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
He went on to play 876 regular-season games over 15 seasons in the NHL, more than any Duluth native, but never again spent time with the league's playoff trophy.
His shining moment came with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 and he talks of the experience in Ross Bernstein's book "Raising Stanley: What it Takes to Claim Hockey's Ultimate Prize," 321 pages by Triumph Books, 2010.
Bernstein, from Eagan, Minn., talked with more than 100 NHL players and coaches, including 22 of 28 Minnesotans to have won a Stanley Cup.
"I figured I would win a whole bunch of Stanley Cups after that first one. But it doesn't always work that way, in hockey or life. You have to take advantage of those unique situations when you can, otherwise you are going to have regrets later on," Hill says in the book.
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Others featured, with Northland connections, are Minnesota Duluth players Tom Kurvers, Dave Langevin, Derek Plante, Shjon Podein, Brett Hull and Chico Resch, along with Jamie Langenbrunner of Cloquet, Mike Peluso of Pengilly, Mike Polich of Hibbing and Alex Goligoski of Grand Rapids. The late Frank Brimsek, a goalie from Eveleth, also was a Stanley Cup champion.
Hill and Montreal beat Los Angeles and Wayne Gretzky in the 1993 finals in five games, winning the last four, three in overtime. Hull gained his own spot in Stanley Cup lore with his first title in 1999, scoring the series-clinching goal in overtime as Dallas beat Buffalo in Game 6. He joined his father, Bobby, in having his name etched on the oldest team championship trophy in sports.
"One of the great traditions of winning the Cup is to be able to have it for a day. I took it back to Duluth. It was so much fun, just a great day. I just wanted everyone to be able to share it and to enjoy the experience. I took it to Grandma's Saloon on Canal Park, over to Norman's (Bar), and to Northland Country Club. I took it everywhere. I later had a big party at my house on Pike Lake. What a great day," Hull said in a foreword to the book.
Bernstein, who has written nearly 50 sports books, will donate some proceeds of "Raising Stanley" to the Herb Brooks Foundation, which oversees the Herb Brooks Training Center in Blaine, Minn., and provides hockey opportunities for children. Bernstein is president of the board of directors of the Herb Brooks Foundation.
He has a book signing from 7-9 p.m. today at Barnes and Noble at the Miller Hill Mall, and from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday at Woodward's Books, 1425 South 12th Avenue, in Virginia.
