Advertisement

Ryan O'Reilly reunites with 99-year-old grandmother after winning Stanley Cup

Ryan O'Reilly's touching moment with his 99-year-old grandmother made his day with the Stanley Cup all the more special. (Twitter//@StLouisBlues)
Ryan O'Reilly's touching moment with his 99-year-old grandmother made his day with the Stanley Cup all the more special. (Twitter//@StLouisBlues)

It’s been quite the whirlwind for Ryan O’Reilly since his St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup in mid-June.

After all of the celebrations and a memorable acceptance speech at the ESPY Awards a couple of weeks ago, the 28-year-old finally had his day with Lord Stanley’s mug in his hometown on Thursday.

His 24 hours with the Cup started where it all began, and with the woman that began it all. Within moments of arriving at the Seaforth and Area Fire Department, he walked over to his 99-year-old grandmother, Deirdre O'Reilly.

Their ensuing embrace — the first since Ryan helped capture arguably the toughest trophy to win in professional sports — was magical.

"It was just a wonderful feeling when I saw him," the elder O’Reilly said, according to the CBC. "I wanted to squeeze the life out of him.”

In a day that just screamed small town Ontario, the 2019 Conn Smythe winner took part in two parades: One in Seaforth, Ontario and the other in nearby Goderich.

And just like any small town parade in the history of ever, O’Reilly found himself being escorted through town atop a firetruck during the first.

And in the back of a classic car for the second.

Following a career-best regular season in which he scored 28 goals and picked up 77 points, O’Reilly led St. Louis in postseason scoring with 23 points in 26 games.

More NHL coverage on Yahoo Sports