Winning Stanley Cup fulfilled “a family dream” for Schwartz

Jaden Schwartz will get to share the Stanley Cup with friends, family members and hundreds of other people Saturday.

The Wilcox-born St. Louis Blues forward and teammate Tyler Bozak — a product of Regina — are to show off the NHL’s championship trophy during an event at the Legislative Building starting at 11:30 a.m.

But there’s one other person with whom Schwartz would love to celebrate Saturday. His sister, Mandi, died in April of 2011 at the age of 23 after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

Mandi certainly was on Jaden’s mind on June 12, when he first got to lift the Stanley Cup after the Blues defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1 in Game 7 of the NHL final.

“It was a family dream of ours,” Schwartz, 27, said Friday during a conversation with The Green Zone’s Jamie Nye. “We all grew up together and kind of trained together and played sports and hockey. I wanted to do this for her and I know how (difficult) it has been for my parents.

“Watching hockey gives them something to look forward to and kind of take their minds off things.”

Mandi played hockey at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox before attending Yale University. She was diagnosed with cancer in December of 2008 and fought it for 27 months before her death.

Jaden played junior hockey with the SJHL’s Notre Dame Hounds and the United States Hockey League’s Tri-City Storm before heading to Colorado College. He was selected by the Blues in the first round (14th overall) of the 2010 NHL draft, when Mandi was receiving treatment.

Jaden joined the Blues during the 2011-12 NHL season and has been in their lineup for the past seven seasons.

Throughout his career, he has thought about his sister.

“She’s on your mind all the time,” Jaden said. “You learn from her and, in different situations you go through, obviously (her battle) puts things in perspective really quickly.

“I learned that at a young age, having watched her fight and with what our family went through. It’s something that you carry with you forever and you learn from it. It’s a big reason — having her in my life and what we went through — why I’m here today.”

Jaden’s performance in the playoffs helped St. Louis capture the first Stanley Cup in the franchise’s 52 years of existence. He finished second among all players in the post-season with 12 goals and tied for third with 20 points.

The Blues were last in the NHL’s overall standings in early January before turning things around and making the playoffs. They then played 26 of a possible 28 games over four seven-game series to claim the Cup in Boston.

“It didn’t even feel real out there,” Schwartz said of the moment Alex Pietrangelo was handed the trophy. “It was just crazy. Everyone was so happy and excited.

“It’s such a hard trophy to win. That was a long couple of months of playoffs and we had to have a heck of a second half just to even get there. It was a lot of work by everyone. It was a huge relief and such an unbelievable group of guys to share it with.”

That included Bozak and Saskatoon’s Brayden Schenn. The presence of that trio meant the Blues were adopted during the playoffs by Saskatchewan residents who wanted to see players from their province bring home the Cup.

They’re doing just that this weekend. Schenn had the Cup in Saskatoon on Friday and Bozak and Schwartz will split time with the chalice on Saturday and Sunday.

“As a young kid, you watch a lot of Saskatchewan kids and you watch the NHL and this is obviously a huge goal,” Schwartz said. “To have this day is pretty special.

“To be able to share it with people who have helped you along the way and supported you your whole life, it’s kind of tough to put into words, but it means a lot to everyone.”

While at the legislature, Bozak and Schwartz are to show off the trophy, participate in a question-and-answer session and pose for pictures. 980 CJME’s Greg Morgan and Warren Woods are to be the emcees for the event.

“You don’t really know what to expect, but obviously everyone is very excited,” Schwartz said when asked what he anticipated from the event. “This is something that you’ve worked for your whole life (and something that) you’ve dreamed of.”