Two-time Stanley Cup winner and new Red Wing Mitchell Stephens will hold a boat parade in his hometown of Peterborough, Ontario tomorrow (Wednesday, August 25th), but the NHL’s new protocols regarding the coronavirus mean that fans won’t be able to get their picture taken with the Cup, or Stephens.
The Peterborough Examiner’s staff explain:
A number of COVID-19 protocols are in place to make Peterborough native Mitchell Stephens’ Stanley Cup boat parade a safe event.
The community is invited to come and catch a glimpse of the Stanley Cup on Wednesday for a physically distanced congratulations to Stephens who won a second straight Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, unlike past Stanley Cup events, members of the public will not be permitted to be close to the player or the Cup, and no photo opportunities will be available, according to a city press release.
A boat tour will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Peterborough Lift Lock, moving south on the Trent-Severn Canal to Little Lake arriving at Del Crary Park at about 6:30 p.m.
A short ceremony will recognize Stephens’s accomplishments with remarks by Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, Peterborough County Warden J. Murray Jones, Coun. Andrew Beamer and Coun. Lesley Parnell.
Attendees will be asked to provide their names and contact information for COVID-19 contact tracing purposes. Standard COVID-19 safety protocols will be in place, including wearing masks, maintaining two metres distancing from people who are not in the same household or a care provider.
