Adventist Hinsdale (Ill.) Hospital welcomed a surprise visitor Aug. 2 to its Koplin Emergency & Trauma Center — the Stanley Cup.

The cup, which travels with players from the National Hockey League championship team each off-season, arrived at the hospital along with Hinsdale resident Brent Sopel, who was part of the Chicago Blackhawks’ title-winning team this season.

“We had no idea he was coming,” said Diane Karamagianis, RN, BSN, emergency medical services coordinator. “I saw him walking in and I said, ‘Oh my God, that is not the Stanley Cup.’ It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Karamagianis said Sopel, who also visited the Hinsdale Fire Department with the historic trophy, told staff members that his family had received care at the hospital during his three seasons with the Blackhawks. Bringing the trophy to the hospital was a way for Sopel to show his gratitude for the care his family members received.

“He was such a nice guy,” Karamagianis said. “Our patients were coming out of their rooms to take pictures with it. It was great.”

Karamagianis had a photo taken while holding the nearly 35-pound trophy with Sopel and “called my husband right away.”

Sopel, a defenseman who recently was traded to Atlanta, took photos with the Stanley Cup and Adventist Hinsdale nurses, other healthcare professionals and staff members during his visit.

Among the hospital employees to have photos taken with the historic trophy, which has origins dating to the 1890s, was ED nurse Tracy Daly, RN, and Imelda Pitargue, ED unit secretary.

Barry Bottino is a regional editor at Nursing Spectrum.