Thousands celebrate Sea Dogs' Memorial Cup win with a parade in uptown Saint John

Thousands of people lined the streets of uptown Saint John Thursday to celebrate the Saint John Sea Dogs' Memorial Cup win on home ice.

With team jerseys in abundance, jubilant fans cheered as the cup champions paraded past in an antique fire truck and a Coast Guard inflatable boat.

With often-hoarse voices, the players chanted, sang and cheered along with the fans as the parade wound around King's Square and down King Street, led by mascot Fleaburn on a unicycle. 

 It was a moving tribute to the Cinderella finish of a team knocked out in the first round. 

The parade atmosphere was "electric," said organizing committee member Derek Cooling from the main stage of the waterfront container village, where the parade finally ended.

Cooling said Saint Johners came out in droves to support the Sea Dogs. Even those who weren't hockey fans turned out to support the various other events held around the city in conjunction with the 12-day event. 

"The city really embraced this tournament," he said.

Cooling said he's heard a lot of positive feedback from members of the Canadian Hockey League and they said Saint John has "rewritten the book on how to run a festival in your town surrounded by a hockey tournament, and I think that's the script going forward."

Nick Blagden has been a fan of the Saint John Sea Dogs since he was three years old. 

"I had season tickets for 13 years and now I'm part of the team. It's, you know, it's an amazing opportunity and I'm speechless about that."

Blagden had been playing in Moncton when he was traded to the Sea Dogs six months ago. 

The 19-year-old from Prince of Wales said winning the Memorial Cup in his hometown Wednesday with the 6-3 defeat of the Hamilton Bulldogs was extra special, creating