NHL star Carter Verhaeghe, from Waterdown, Ont., skates his way closer to second Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup could be coming to Waterdown, Ont., in the hands of Florida Panthers centre Carter Verhaeghe.

On Wednesday night, the Panthers swept the Carolina Hurricanes, winning the Eastern Conference final with a game score of 4-3. 

It wasn't a dream.<br><br>Your Cats are STANLEY CUP FINAL BOUND.

Verhaeghe and his team now move on to the Stanley Cup finals in early June, playing against either Vegas or Dallas.

If the Panthers win, the cup could tour Verhaeghe's hometown, as it did in 2021, after he won it as part of the 2019-20 Tampa Bay Lightning.

A lifelong hockey player, Verhaeghe started the road to his second Stanley Cup finals years back, with the Flamborough Hockey Association, before joining the Junior Hamilton Bulldogs. 

Verhaeghe entered the Ontario Hockey League with the Niagara Ice Dogs as a teenager. His former coach, Marty Williamson, told CBC Hamilton Verhaeghe was "quiet" the first of his four years with the Ice Dogs. 

But by the time he left the team at 17, Williamson said Verhaeghe was "our number one centre, our captain — a very, very great leader." 

Ken Koroff billeted Verhaeghe for the four years he played with the Ice Dogs, which means Verhaeghe lived with Koroff's family, "like one of the kids." 

"He was focused 24/7, hockey, hockey, hockey — which probably gave him the edge over a lot of guys," Koroff said.

Verhaeghe was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the end of his run with the Niagara Ice Dogs, but Williamson said Verhaeghe's path into the National Hockey League (NHL) wasn't easy. 

Verhaeghe was cut from the Toronto Maple Leafs and played in the American Hockey League for a few years before he was picked up by the Tampa Bay Lightning, who later won the Stanley Cup in 2020.

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