Not so fast about the Ottawa Senators being Canada's team. "All of Stewart Valley, Sask., is going to be cheering for me," said Travis Moen of the Anaheim Ducks. "All 75 of 'em."
And he says most of Speedy Creek will be cheering for him, too. Stewart Valley is only a few kilometres from Swift Current, as the place is known by its straight name outside the province.
As is the case with just about every NHLer to come out of Saskatchewan, there's a "Home Of" sign with Travis Moen's name on it entering the village of Stewart Valley. "It's a little sign. I go home in the summer."
Dustin Penner figures you can add 10,000 from Winkler, Man. "I know people there care," he said of his home town an hour south of Winnipeg. "It's sort of a surreal feeling for me to be in the Stanley Cup final in my first year. I keep looking at Teemu Selanne, who has been in the league for 15 years and I'm in my first."
That said, Penner wants to take the Cup to Winkler for a day to find out what that feels like -- sooner rather than later. Maybe Selanne and coach Randy Carlyle, a former Winnipeg Jet and Manitoba Moose coach could take it to Winnipeg the next day.
The Cup will make a cross-Canada tour if the Ducks win and Penner thinks they should be Canada's team. "We have 19 and they have 12," he said.
Andy McDonald is from Strathroy. He says there's no way you can put him down for all 14,000 residents, but he's got to be good for quite a few of them.
"I have a lot of friends and family," he said with a laugh.
McDonald said it's great to have a Canadian team in the final. "Hockey is like a religion up there. I know we're all going to enjoy being in a series with a Canadian team and having so many Canadians on our team to experience it."
Ryan Getzlaf is from Regina and says the Ducks should get strong support from Saskatchewan. And put him down for more from Calgary where he played for the Hitmen.
"Three for sure in Calgary. I boarded four years with Scott and Ranell Lorencz and their son Christian is my godson."
Corey Perry is from Peterborough. "I don't know who they'll be cheering for," he said of the Leafs fans who hate Ottawa.
"Mike Fisher is from Peterborough and he plays for the Senators, so that's a push."
Maybe London, where Perry played for the Knights, will swing it. "Well, Chris Kelly of the Senators played for the Knights."
Francois Beauchemin says you can add 25,000 more from Sorel, Que. "They'll be cheering for the Ducks just because I'm from there. The last guy we had from there in the Stanley Cup final was Pierre Mondou in the '70s.''
J.S. Giguere says don't put him down for more than a few dozen.
"Montreal will be cheering for the Senators but I'm hoping some of my relatives will be cheering for me," laughs the goalie.
Then there's Cranbrook, B.C., home of the Neidermayer brothers, Scott and Rob.
"Our next-door neighbour cheered for Vancouver in the last series. That didn't go over all that well," Scott said.
There's another Duck, Sean O'Donnell. He's from Ottawa -- but that's a whole other story.
