St. Louis Blues' Assistant Coach Mike Van Ryn brought the Stanley Cup to St. Augustine Friday and fans here went nuts. Many lined the street to get a glimpse of hockey's biggest prize to chants of "Let's go, Blues." The cup was on display from noon to 2 p.m. at Casa Monica Resort & Spa.
The Blues won their first-ever Stanley Cup in June, defeating the Boston Bruins in seven games. Van Ryn lives in St. Augustine and each member of the winning team gets to take the cup home with them to party with it and do what they want.
Van Ryn's son Tucker used it to drink his Shirley Temple.
Though the event was open and free to the public, the Van Ryn family did accept donations for two charities that are important to them: Pink Up the Pace and Matanzas Riverkeeper. Amber Van Ryn, Mike's wife, was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago.
"Being diagnosed at 34, I feel pretty inclined to share and advocate to be your best advocate and know your body," Van Ryn said. "I did the Pink Up the Pace 5K ten days after my first round [of treatment]. That was my big moment of 'I'm gonna get out of the house. And I'm gonna walk it. And I'm gonna do it.'
'It helps people with insurance and co-pay. It's super close to me."
The Van Ryn's are also a family of fishermen and women and live on the Inner Coastal.
"Just living on the water you see and realize the importance of taking care of your oceans, not littering, not using pesticide," Van Ryn said.