Brandon Bussi brings the Stanley Cup back to Long Island in full-circle moment for Hurricanes goalie
Sound Beach’s Brandon Bussi held the Stanley Cup aloft to make sure everybody had a chance to see it as he walked outside The Rinx in Hauppauge on Wednesday, followed Pied Piper style by about a third of the approximate crowd of 3,000 that did not make it into the facility to take a picture with the Hurricanes goalie and the NHL’s ultimate trophy.
Later, Bussi and the Cup rode in a boat operated by the Freeport Police Department on the Woodcleft Canal, arriving to a crowd of approximately 1,000 at Bracco’s Clam & Oyster Bar on the Nautical Mile for the second public event he planned for Long Islanders to share his day with the Cup.
“To see the Holy Grail, the hardest trophy to win in sports and to be able to see it in person, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity,” said lifelong Islanders’ fan Anthony Oliveri, 52, of Valley Stream after standing on a line that stretched an hour long at Bracco’s to take a photo with the Cup.
Bussi, 28, is the second player from Long Island to win the Stanley Cup after Rob Scuderi, who grew up in Bethpage and lifted the trophy with the Penguins in 2009 and the Kings in 2012. Scuderi also celebrated with the Cup at Bracco’s in 2009 and Bussi wanted to pay tribute to his predecessor’s celebration.
He chose The Rinx because that’s where he first began skating by the time he was 4 years old.
“We’re here to celebrate the arrival of the Stanley Cup from one of our own, from Brandon Bussi,” Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said during formal speeches at The Rinx. “He’s one of us. You have done so much for the sport of hockey. God bless you.”
“This moment to me is pretty surreal,” Bussi said. “Being able to come back to the place where I strapped on my pads for the first time with loved ones. I see a lot of old faces, old coaches, old teammates. The youth hockey community as a whole supporting me is very special. I’ll never forget this day.”
Bussi carried the Cup into the Rinx and went immediately to the north rink, where he first played. There, he posed for pictures with youth hockey players and with his parents, Robert and Lisa, his father overcome by emotions.
After the public ceremony, which included Bussi being declared Suffolk County’s first sportsperson of the year, he stood for more than an hour taking pictures with fans as they snaked into The Rinx from a long, outdoor line.
“He’s still a kid at heart,” said Tom Palamara, the owner of The Rinx.
At Bracco’s, the Cup was placed on a stand behind ropes, with fans standing in front for selfies.
“I love being out here,” said Adam Mancin, 39, originally from Jericho, who was directed to Bracco’s by a friend of a friend who played with Bussi as a youth and vouched for Bussi’s friendly personality. “For me, it’s like coming home. I used to go to Bracco’s all the time.”
Freeport's John Osei-Tutu, Bussi’s agent, said "this is about what I expected it to look like. The hockey community is going to support Brandon because of who he is as a person.”
Ray O’Sullivan, 45, an Islanders season-ticket holder and his son, Peter, 14, who attends Miller Place High School and plays for the PAL and St. Anthony’s — as Bussi did — were a few spots from the front of the line at The Rinx as they arrived around 8 a.m. The elder O’Sullivan, who also attended the event at Bracco’s, said all of his son’s teachers at Miller Place have talked about Bussi.
“It’s special,” Peter O’Sullivan said. “It shows that anywhere you are, you can make it in sports.”
Bussi went 31-6-2 with a 2.44 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage in his first NHL season after four seasons with the Bruins’ AHL affiliate and agreed to a three-year, $5.7 million extension on Feb. 16. He started the final three games of the Hurricanes’ six-game win over Vegas in the Cup Final.
“He had an unbelievable run,” Farmingville’s Keith Kinkaid, 37, who played 10 seasons in the NHL and was Bussi’s teammate in the AHL with Providence in 2022-23, said at The Rinx. “He’s still young. He can win multiple Cups. I’m really proud of him. Honestly, it’s not great for me. I still want to touch the Cup and I don’t know if I ever will. But it’s cool the Stanley Cup is back on Long Island.”
Bryan Vaccaro, 33, of Holtsville, who teaches social studies at Miller Place and initiated a sports history class, and his wife, Jennifer, 32, brought their 3-month-old son, Beckett, to the event at The Rinx, getting a family photo with the Cup and Bussi.
“I have chills,” Jennifer Vaccaro said.
But, apparently, there are limits to what can be placed in the Cup despite the wild stories from the Trophy’s past celebrations. The Vaccaros were told, no, they could not put their infant in the Cup.
“Just the fact that my 3-month-old is closer to the Cup than most human beings will be is pretty empowering,” Bryan Vaccaro said.
At both The Rinx and Bracco’s, Bussi's wife, Mary — they were married last month — handed out autographed pictures of him to the crowd.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
