Panthers Mackie Samoskevich Honors Sandy Hook Victims With Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup — the most famous trophy in sports; that's not up for debate — is currently on its annual summer tour, and for the second straight summer it's following the Florida Panthers, who, for the second straight year, defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final.

What is so cool about the Stanley Cup is that each player gets their day with the Cup to do whatever they want. While for some that means eating some Cap'n Crunch out of the bowl, for others it can get much more personal, and that was the case for Panthers rookie Mackie Samoskevich.

 Samoskevich hails from Sandy Hook, Connecticut, and when he was a kid, he attended Sandy Hook Elementary School.

According to Florida Hockey Now, back in 2012, Samoskevich and his twin sister, Maddie, were just one year out of elementary school when a gunman opened fire at the school and murdered 20 students and six staff members.

The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary was one of the most horrific crimes of the 21st century and impacted people across the nation and around the world.

Of course, someone who attended the school would've been impacted by it, and on his day with the Cup, Mackie Samoskevich decided to take it to a memorial to pay tribute to those who lost their lives that day.

"So this is the Sandy Hook Elementary School Memorial," Samoskevich said. "I thought we'd just bring (the Cup) back in honor of them."

The 22-year-old was the Panthers' 24th-overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft after three seasons with the USHL's Chicago Steel. He went on to play two seasons at the University of Michigan before turning pro at the end of the 2022-23 season with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers.

This season was Samoskevich's first full season with the Panthers, and he registered 31 points (15G, 16A) in 72 games.