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RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - JUNE 16: Hockey star Andrei Svechnikov is seen at Raising Cane's Raleigh on June 16, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images for Raising Cane's)

It took eight years and a lot of deep playoff runs, but Andrei Svechnikov can finally call himself a Stanley Cup champion.

The 26-year-old has been with the Carolina Hurricanes since they selected him with the second overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and had been to the playoffs during every season of his career. However, he had never been to the Stanley Cup Finals until this season when the Hurricanes lost just three games en route to winning their first Stanley Cup since 2006.

“I think we just kind of had a perfect group of guys,” said Svechnikov in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports while making an appearance at Raising Cane’s in Raleigh, North Carolina. “I think we added a couple pieces last summer, and every line was buzzing – the first, second, third, fourth line — they were scoring, we were buzzing and obviously the coaching staff did an unbelievable job preparing us for every game. We were building for this throughout all these years, and the time finally came for us.”

Hurricanes Go on One of Most Dominant Playoff Runs in NHL History

The Hurricanes were certainly “building” for this for a long time. Not only had they been to eight straight playoffs, a solid portion of the core — head coach Rod Brind’Amour, Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal — have been through every deep playoff run and heartbreak, which included two conference finals losses to the Florida Panthers in the past three years.

However, this team was obviously built different. They lost just one game prior to the Stanley Cup Finals, sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators in the process. Their 16-3 record trails only the 1987-88 Edmonton Oilers (16-2) for the best postseason run in the modern playoff era.

While they don’t have any overly big superstar names on the roster, they won games with their stout defense and dominant puck possession, defeating a Las Vegas Golden Knights team that was heavy on big names with players such as Mitch Marner and Jack Eichel.

It was fitting that Jordan Staal, who joined the team in 2012 — he’s their longest-tenured player — and who has been captain since 2019 was named the Conn Smythe Trophy Winner. At 37 years old, he’s the oldest player to win the award.

“I mean we got good players, obviously,” said Svechnikov when the notion of the Hurricanes not having superstar players is brought up. “I think we’re playing a deep, deep system, and we’ve been doing this for eight years, obviously. The goaltender been unbelievable for us, and the D core they all skate so well, they’re defending so well. It’s hard, it’s hard to play against us, and we know that. That was kind of our main thing, playing good defense, we always gonna score on our chances.”

Andrei Svechnikov Serves Hurricanes Fans at Raising Cane’s in North Carolina

Svechnikov, who had two goals in the Hurricanes’ 4-2 win over the Golden Knights in Game 5, served Hurricanes fans at the Raising Cane’s drive-thru in Raleigh, North Carolina. The 6-foot-3 winger’s appearance came just two days after he helped Carolina win their second Stanley Cup.

The Russian forward has spent his entire career in Carolina and he detailed what makes Hurricanes fans so special.

“Oh man, I mean I’ve been here for a while, probably eight years right now, and I feel like every year the fan base grows bigger and bigger,” said Svechnikov. “More people involved, the kids start going, playing hockey, and they’re building more rinks, and the fans just unbelievable. You come to the playoff game, and you get the goosebumps right before the game, because you’re driving by the parking lot and seeing all the people already cooking barbecue four hours before the game, and you kind of step on the ice, and they’re just probably the loudest building in the NHL for me personally. We just got the best fans.”