ST. CLOUD — There was a crowd of about 2,000 people waiting to see Nate Schmidt and the Stanley Cup arrive on Monday, Aug. 25, at the Municipal Athletic Complex in St. Cloud.
When Schmidt walked through the doors with the trophy — and those in attendance saw him — there was a loud ovation for the 2010
graduate.
Nate Schmidt delivers the NHL Stanley Cup to the Municipal Athletic Complex on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in St. Cloud. Schmidt, a 2010 St. Cloud Cathedral High School graduate, became the first St. Cloud native to win a Stanley Cup when his Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers on June 17, 2025, in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
“You plan this moment forever in your head,” said Schmidt, a 34-year-old defenseman. “We’ll see how the rest of the day goes, but this is a pretty darn good start.
“You look around and still can’t believe it. You don’t really understand it. I can’t believe how many people are here.”
This was the second time that the Stanley Cup has been in St. Cloud. In 2006, former
defenseman Bret Hedican brought the trophy to the
Herb Brooks National Hockey Center
after helping the Carolina Hurricanes win the title.
Schmidt won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers on June 17. Each player who is on the Cup-winning team gets a day with the trophy. The handlers of the Stanley Cup went to his summer house in the west metro suburbs of the Twin Cities on Monday morning.
Members of the St. Cloud Cathedral High School boys hockey team pose with the NHL Stanley Cup on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, at Dave Torrey Arena in St. Cloud. The Stanley Cup was in the city thanks to Cathedral graduate Nate Schmidt, who was a key player in the Florida Panthers’ run to winning the trophy back on June 17, 2025.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
“This is the first place I wanted to come to,” Schmidt said of the MAC. “I do want as many people as possible see the Cup as I can.
“Too many good memories here not to enjoy what this is now. I walk in now and it’s like walking back 15 years. It’s awesome. It’s surreal to be back here, seeing everybody and a packed house. It’s a lot of memories and pretty awesome.”
Two Cathedral representatives (Emmett Keenan and Eric Johnson) spoke before Schmidt got on the microphone and thanked everyone for coming by to Dave Torrey Arena.
Johnson was Schmidt’s high school hockey coach for three seasons.
“In ninth grade, you could see he was going to play collegiately,” Johnson said of Schmidt, who played three seasons for the University of Minnesota. “The NHL stuff, you can’t even fathom it because you’re so focused on getting him into college. My job was to get him to junior hockey and college. The tail end of his sophomore year at the U, I thought, ‘He’s got it.’ But you never know.
Schmidt played his first three years of high school for Cathedral and then played his senior season (2009-10) with the
before playing at the
(2010-13).
After his junior season, Schmidt signed as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Capitals.
Former St. Cloud Cathedral head boys hockey coach Eric Johnson (left) speaks to the crowd on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, at Dave Torrey Arena after St. Cloud native Nate Schmidt (right) delivered the NHL Stanley Cup to the Municipal Athletic Complex. Johnson coached Schmidt when he played at Cathedral.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
“One of the things that worked out significantly in his favor was he was undrafted,” Johnson said. “Sometimes, you get drafted by a team and you get stuck in a system and you don’t match. When he signed after his junior year as a free agent, there were many teams in the mix. Washington was the perfect spot with the way he plays to have an opportunity to break into the league.
“With him, once he gets in a locker room, you know he’s staying.”
Why is that?
“He has a rare thing where, when he’s around, everybody is better,” Johnson said. “Everyone plays better, everyone’s attitude is better. It’s not like he’s a big rah-rah (guy). But he’s got so much positive energy. In my head, I thought, ‘If he can get in an (locker) room, he’s going to stick in the NHL. Thankfully for him, it has. To see it culminate with the Stanley Cup …”
Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt (88) hoists the Stanley Cup after winning Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena.
Sam Navarro / Reuters Connect
Current Cathedral head coach Robbie Stocker was a high school teammate of Schmidt’s. Stocker said that he knew that Schmidt was a special talent when they were growing up.
“There was never a rink where we went to where he wasn’t the best guy (on the ice),” Stocker said. “There’s a lot of good Minnesota hockey players and I’ve never seen anybody as good as him our age. It’s still almost hard to believe.”
Stocker had all members of his team come to the event and they were among the first to get their pictures taken with Schmidt and the Stanley Cup.
The St. Cloud Cathedral boys hockey team poses with the NHL Stanley Cup on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, at Dave Torrey Arena in St. Cloud.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
After leaving college, Schmidt played for the Capitals (2013-17). Then he was taken by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft and helped them reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2018.
He played for Vegas until 2020 and then signed a free agent deal with the Vancouver Canucks for the 2020-21 season. From 2021-24, he played for the Winnipeg Jets before signing to play for the Panthers last summer after some debate.
“Thankfully, I made the right choice,” Schmidt said. “You never know and hindsight is 20/20. It’s something to think about all the places and things that you debated about. I thought I was going somewhere else. I had guys tell me, ‘I think Florida is your place.’ Here we are now and laughing about the decision I made.”
One of the people urging him to sign with Florida was Johnson.
St. Cloud Cathedral graduate Nate Schmidt (right) embraces his high school head hockey coach, Eric Johnson, during an event on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, at Dave Torrey Arena to celebrate Schmidt winning the NHL Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in June.
Schmidt became the first St. Cloud native to win a Stanley Cup when his Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers on June 17, 2025.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
“We had some discussions last summer as he was making a move and trying to figure out where to go next,” Johnson said. “I said, ‘You really have two goals left and you don’t need any more money. You want to try to get another contract and you want to win a Cup.’ He loved (Florida coach) Paul Marice when he was with him in Winnipeg.
“It seemed like a no-brainer, even though it was less money. It worked out. He had a great playoffs and now he has a nice paycheck for the next three years.”
After Florida won the Stanley Cup,
Schmidt said that signing with Utah was not an easy decision.
“It’s tough to leave that team,” Schmidt said of the Panthers. “They do it right everywhere, up and down. That’s what makes it a bittersweet end.
Members of Nate Schmidt’s family, including (from left to right) Luke Schmidt, Hawa Schmidt, Katie Schmidt and her son, Leeland, all pose for a photo next to the NHL Stanley Cup on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, at Dave Torrey Arena in St. Cloud.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
“This is a great end to the summer. You get to bookend it for an awesome year. I had a daughter (Daisy) this year. I got to win a Stanley Cup. I was able to get a great deal and go to Utah. It’s a lot of really great things have happened in the last year. I feel very blessed and something went like you planned it, for once. This is pretty special.”
For Stocker and Johnson, seeing Schmidt win the Stanley Cup was more than meaningful.
“I was in school with Nate since kindergarten at St. Peter, Paul and Michael,” Stocker said.
“He is the first guy (from St. Cloud) to do it
and may be the only guy to ever do it. It means a lot. Kids always dream about doing it, but it’s never something that seems attainable. It’s pretty cool. For a guy (from here) to reach that, it’s pretty cool.
“For us, it’s an honor to have an alumni do it. We’re pretty darn proud of Nate. To have it be a classmate makes it even cooler. He’s a really good guy and ambassador for the school. “
Members of the St. Cloud Cathedral High School boys hockey team pose with the NHL Stanley Cup on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, at Dave Torrey Arena in St. Cloud. The Stanley Cup was in the city thanks to Cathedral graduate Nate Schmidt, who was a key player in the Florida Panthers’ run to winning the trophy back on June 17, 2025.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
Johnson said that seeing Florida captain Aleksander Barkov hand Schmidt the Stanley Cup let him know that Schmidt has not changed.
“What explains him to me — and brought the emotions out — was that they win the Cup and Barkov hands him the Cup first,” Johnson said. “I’m like, ‘OK, he’s still Schmidty.’ That’s the guy he is in the locker room and those guys recognized that. That was pretty awesome. It’s a credit to his character.
“It’s super mind-blowing because I think of him being 12 years old and bouncing off everywhere. No joke: He’s still the same guy. Just older and less hair. He’s got a lot of energy.”
Johnson and Keenan helped Schmidt work out the details with the MAC to bring the trophy to St. Cloud, where his parents still live.
“I make stops in the summer,” Schmidt said of St. Cloud. “I’m still able to stop on by. My uncle has a farm here in Waite Park. It brings you back to your roots.”
The crowd at Dave Torrey Arena reacts after St. Cloud native Nate Schmidt delivered the NHL Stanley Cup on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, at the Municipal Athletic Complex in St. Cloud. Schmidt, a 2010 St. Cloud Cathedral High School graduate, became the first St. Cloud native to win a Stanley Cup when his Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers on June 17, 2025, in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
Nate Schmidt claps his hands after delivering the NHL Stanley Cup to the Municipal Athletic Complex on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in St. Cloud. Schmidt, a 2010 St. Cloud Cathedral High School graduate, became the first St. Cloud native to win a Stanley Cup when his Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers on June 17, 2025, in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
—St. Cloud LIVE sports editor Andy Rennecke contributed to this story.