Nazem Kadri celebrates Stanley Cup win with the London Muslim community that always backed him

Nazem Kadri walked out the front doors of the London Muslim Mosque on Saturday and hoisted the Stanley Cup as he celebrated winning hockey's highest trophy with his hometown community.

The 31-year-old won the Cup in June as a member of the Colorado Avalanche and is believed to be the first member of his faith to become an NHL champion.

On Saturday, Kadri made a point of including the Muslim community in the celebration, telling the crowd gathered at the mosque they were essential to his development as a hockey player, and a person. 

The magic moment: Kadri brings the cup out the front doors of the London Muslim Mosque. <a href="https://t.co/d8XkhhfmF5">pic.twitter.com/d8XkhhfmF5</a>

"You guys have been supporting me from day one, which is something I always appreciate," Kadri told the hundreds who gathered at the mosque on Oxford Street West. 

"These are the streets I grew up on, this is the mosque I used to come to, and everything has just seemed to come around full circle. I'm very appreciative, very privileged and honoured to be the first Muslim to bring the Stanley Cup to the mosque. It's a big deal. That's something that I'm always gonna respect and remember."

Kadri was born and raised in London. He also played two years of junior hockey with the London Knights before he was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2009. He played seven seasons in Toronto before being traded to the Avalanche in 2019.

"My friends and family here, they've been cheering me on since the first day I put on skates, and that's very inspiring and very motivating," he said. "I couldn't be more grateful to share this moment with you guys. London, Ontario ... we're Stanley Cup champions."

Many of the speakers acknowledged that London's Muslim