Every queen needs a king. In this case, every Dairy Queen needs a “dairy king” and we think they found one in Brad Marchand. The former Bruins’ love for frozen Blizzard treats and his frequent visits with teammates have been one of the funnier stories to come out of the Florida Panthers' run to a second consecutive Stanley Cup.
As part of the Panthers nonstop celebration (they were at the famous Miami night club “Eleven” until the wee hours of the morning) the Dairy Queen in Sunrise debuted a “Brad Blizzard” version of the famous treat. The dessert was advertised as having “chocolate chip cookie dough” as well as being the “treat of champions” for this one day only offering.
Marchand received a hero’s welcome at said Dairy Queen and interacted with fans in ways only Marchand could. He joked that a fan was lying after calling him “the greatest thing to ever happen to the Panthers” and claimed to have already forgotten the previous night’s escapades that included him crowd surfing with the Stanley Cup.
The newly-minted second time champion called it “the best day of his life”. Take that, Stanley Cup.
Of course, Marchand had to prove the dessert named after him stood up to the test of being able to be flipped upside down. They even put him to work at the drive through while fans assembled in the store chanted “thank you, Boston”. Marchand told the same crowd “it feels like I’m home”, which Panthers fans hope continues to be Florida as Marchand approached unrestricted free agency.
When asked at the event if Marchand had a message for general manager Bill Zito Marchand responded “yeah, give me a contract”.
Was it goofy and fun? Absolutely, but more importantly it shows just how much hockey has transcended the sports landscape in South Florida. For decades as the Panthers struggled they were seen as “not a hockey market” and now the previously “despised by fans of any team not named the Bruins” Marchand has become a marketable star for them. A Panthers fan even showed up to get his picture taken in a shirt that made fun of the Panthers beating Marchand’s Bruins in playoffs past before switching sides.
From a business perspective it also shows companies that it’s profitable to spend advertising dollars with the NHL. Dairy Queen has featured MLB players in recent ads, why not make one with some of the NHL’s more marketable stars? We’re sure the line around the building of fans that waited to meet Marchand, and the rest of the league, would love it.
No doubt there are some hockey old-timers shaking their fists that Gordie Howe wasn’t promoting ice cream. At the end of the day, this Marchand matchup made fans smile and gave fans another way to celebrate their Cup win, and that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?