Philipp Grubauer is the 2018 Stanley Cup winner with the Washington Capitals. In Game 5 on Thursday in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Caps defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 and took the decisive fourth win to 4-1 in the best -of-7 series. The 26-year-old from Rosenheim is the fourth German player and the first German goalkeeper to win the coveted ice hockey trophy. Immediately after the triumph, we interviewed Grubauer on the ice in Las Vegas.
Congratulations. Philipp Grubauer is the 2018 Stanley Cup winner. How does that sound?
“Indescribable. There are no words for it. It's unbelievable what this team has achieved here, all year long. And in the playoffs we fought through and persevered. Again we were down 3-2 in the final third and turned things around. Indescribable.”
You seemed really cool throughout the series. What did it look like inside you?
“Of course you are behind it with full euphoria. There was nothing I could do other than watch and of course hope the boys made the best of it.”
What was it like lifting the Stanley Cup?
"Incredible. We work all year round and for so many years to get to the destination, to have the thing in our hands. It’s like a dream you had as a little child and it comes true.”
Your name will be engraved on the cup, making you virtually immortal. How proud are you of that?
“I am proud of our team. What we have achieved here together. Everyone in the whole team, whether it's the office, the staff, the masseurs, the physios. Everyone has a big part to play in it.”
The Fans Of course, the following question is of interest: Will the Cup come to Germany for the third year in a row?
“We have already discussed this with the family and I think he will come to Rosenheim.”
When are you going back to Germany?
"No idea. I’m just going to enjoy this for now.”
After silver at the Olympics, is your cup victory the crowning achievement for German ice hockey this season?
“I wouldn’t see it as a crowning achievement, because what the boys achieved at the Olympics was extraordinary and unbelievable. But as the next German, after Tom has achieved it twice, it’s all the better.”
(Source: Stefan Herget, NHL.com/de)