There's a special type of summer day in Montreal that makes the city come alive. Endless blue skies stretch above an array of vibrant greens, and it feels like anything is possible.
Saturday, as an estimated 20,000 people poured into downtown streets and the Quartier des Spectacles to celebrate the Victoire's Walter Cup Championship, was one of those days.
"We turned the corner onto Sainte-Catherine Street, and I started to cry," said Ann-Renée Desbiens.
Players and staff boarded a double-decker bus at their home rink in Verdun. They were already surrounded by fans while driving down Wellington Street, more than five kilometres from the event site and nowhere near the formally-announced parade route.
"This is truly special," Desbiens recalled thinking. It was only the beginning.
"And then, I was up front in the bus with Marie-Philip Poulin, and we turned the corner of Sainte-Catherine and we saw everybody – and I mean everybody. You couldn't see any pavement out there. I could never have expected that in my wildest dreams."
When the team arrived at the square and made their way onto the outdoor stage, coaches and players were introduced one-by-one. They danced, chugged drinks, hyped up the crowd. Amanda Boulier, who lost a season-long bet with Laura Stacey, carried around a tuba nearly half her size, lifting it above her head like the Cup and playing it often.
Players and staff made speeches, took pictures, and partied before a crowd that seemed to continue on forever.
"We hear them all year, but to see them here today, it's very cool," said Catherine Dubois. "We're happy to be able to celebrate with them. We're human too, and we like to have fun. So it's very cool to see them."
Swedish forward Lina Ljungblom ended her afternoon dancing to ABBA. "I love the city, I love the people here, and to be here today with all the fans, it's amazing," she said. "I can't describe it, but it's amazing."
Every now and then amidst the fanfare, you could spot someone taking a moment to soak it all in.
"It hits the heart here today," Laura Stacey said. "We always dreamed about playing professionally, we always dreamed about playing hockey for a living. But we never dreamed about this."
Standing onstage mid-celebration with speeches still ongoing, Poulin leaned over to the media zone. "It's a long way from Brossard," she said.
It was a reference to a post by reporter Jared Book, who'd recalled the small midday press conference at the Montreal Canadiens' south shore practice facility that had marked the main local acknowledgement of Les Canadiennes' 2017 CWHL title. Later, she contrasted the two events again.
"Being able to get celebrated at our level, honestly, it's been unbelievable."
It was surreal, unprecedented, and well overdue, and from this point on, Desbiens highlighted, it can become the norm.
Assistant coach Caroline Ouellette was pregnant with her first daughter when she, as a player, won that Clarkson Cup championship. The next winter, newborn Liv was introduced to fans in a pre-game ceremony at Aréna Michel-Normandin, the 576-seat community rink that Les Canadiennes called home. Liv, now eight years old, stood centre stage on Saturday alongside her mom and sister and held the Walter Cup above her head before tens of thousands of cheering supporters. This is the world she knows.
"Other than the night of winning, this is the most monumental day I've ever experienced in my life," Erin Ambrose said. She had more to add, but trailed off as the crowd before the emptying stage, still massive despite the event having come to an end, broke into a spontaneous Let's Go Victoire chant.
The moment spoke for itself.
