Nazem Kadri was the first Muslim player to win a Stanley Cup. Now he will add to that distinction by bringing the Stanley Cup Trophy to his hometown mosque in London, Ontario Saturday.
It's believed to be the first time the historic trophy will be in a mosque.
“For our Muslim community here, this is huge,… Mosque board member Hassan Mostafa told the Toronto Star this week.
Ever since Stanley Cup winners were given a day with the Stanley Cup starting in 1995, players have gone above and beyond to come up with unique and memorable destinations for the trophy.
The mosque will not be the first religious experience for the Stanley Cup.
The Cup has been used as a baptismal font at least four times. The latest was this summer when defenseman Jack Johnson used it in the baptism of his children. The first time it was used for a baptism was 1996 when Colorado Avalanche player Sylvain Lefebvre used it for that purpose.
Pat Verbeek brought the Stanley Cup to a Catholic Mass in 1999 and asked his priest to bless it.
In his homily, Monsignor Donald Zimmerman, jokingly prayed that any future Stanley Cups could be won in only one overtime instead of the three it took in 1999.
The Stanley Cup stops are not all steeped in piety. The Cup has known its' share of debauchery, hijinks and road trips.
Through the years, the Stanley Cup has known many adventures. It's been to strip clubs. It has been to more than 25 countries, and to the bottom of Mario Lemieux’s pool. Phil Bourque threw it in the pool and it formed suction to the drain. The Pittsburgh Penguins had difficulty bringing it to the surface.
Twice, would-be thieves tried unsuccessfully to steal the Cup. In 1924, the Montreal Wanderers left it by the side of the road when they stopped to change a tire on an automobile.
The Cup has been used as a bait bucket. It has been a prop in Andre Roy's marriage proposal. It was flown in a helicopter piloted by the late Guy Lafleur. It's been filled with beer, dog food, cereal and ice cream. Thanks to Joe Nieuwendyk, it has been filled with French fries topped with gravy, per Canadian tradition.
But no matter what players choose to do on their day with the Cup, it almost always includes a stop in their community to allow fans to share in the celebration.
And whatever players do with the Cup, the emotion of the day is often overwhelming.
Nieuwendyk played his college hockey at Cornell. He took the Stanley Cup there. He visited a professor he admired. His name was Dan Sisler. He was blind. Nieuwendyk found great joy in handing him the Cup.
"It was a neat feeling to see him scan the Cup with his hands," Nieuwendyk said. "Everyone stopped what they were doing to see him going over the Cup. It was awesome."
The story of the Stanley Cup's travels is always changing. New chapters are always being written like Saturday when it visits a mosque.