Stanley Cup makes appearance at Canada Olympic House, causing a stir

Stephen Whyno, The Canadian Press

SOCHI, Russia - The Stanley Cup made an appearance at Canada Olympic House on Monday and it didn’t sit well with one former Olympian.

While athletes from several sports converged to see hockey’s most prized trophy, former Canadian skier Brian Stemmle tweeted his opposition to the event.

“Why is the Stanley Cup at Canada House in Sochi?” Stemmle wrote. “Other athletes don’t bring their trophies. Hate when hockey tries to overshadow other sports.”

It has become a tradition for the NHL to have the Stanley Cup at the Winter Olympics, which is featuring the league’s players for the fifth time.

Canadian Olympic Committee president Marcel Aubut said he negotiated with deputy commissioner Bill Daly to make sure the Cup made it to Canada Olympic House, though it also went on a tour of other nations’ buildings and into the city of Sochi.

Figure skater Patrick Chan and women’s skeleton slider Mellisa Hollingsworth were among the current Canadian Olympians who made a point of leaving the athletes village to see the Cup.

Men’s hockey player Corey Perry, who won the Cup in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks, happened to be there, though that was by coincidence.

Hollingsworth called the Cup a “symbolism of our culture,” and something athletes of any sport could appreciate given the hard work that goes into winning it.