There’s one Bolt who’s spent more time with the Stanley Cup than any player in the history of the NHL.
No, it’s not Dave Andreychuk, Marty St. Louis, or Vinny Lecavalier.
I’m talking about MIKE Bolt, who's one of four men of an exclusive fraternity known as “The Keepers of the Cup”.
And yes, people have asked Bolt if he’s a good-luck charm for the Lightning.
“I was a little caught off guard in ’04 when people started to make a big deal about it,” Bolt said. “Yeah, sure, I guess it’s a fun little story.”
If you want stories, you’ve come to the right place.
Bolt has seen anything and everything in close to 19 years traveling the globe with the most famous trophy in sports.
He's an employee of Toronto's Hockey Hall of Fame who is responsible for taking care of the oldest trophy in professional sports wherever it goes.
“One of the biggest, most interesting parties that I went to was with Chris Chelios," Bolt said. "It was up in Malibu, California. And I joked that there were more celebrities at his party than at the Oscars.”
Bolt’s been part of the Cup’s journey through 25 different countries and 49 states, making sure it’s secure on flights and accounted for at all times.
He estimates that the Stanley Cup is on the road for more than 330 days per year, and Mike is its keeper at least 220 of those days.
“The Stanley Cup is a rock star," Bolt said. "In some ways, it transcends the sport. We were talking off camera. I’m in airports all the time, and people come up to me and go, ‘Is that the Stanley Cup?’ Yeah. ‘Well, I’m not a hockey fan, but can I get a picture with the cup?’ And you won’t see that in any other sport. And people are just kind of drawn to it. It’s a magnet.”
Fans who come out to see the 35-pound silver chalice get an unbelievable experience.
They’re allowed to touch it and allowed to kiss it.
But one thing they can never do is hoist it.
“You have to earn the right," Bolt said. "And as soon as you explain it to people, they totally understand. You’ve got to keep something special for the guys who play for it on the ice.”
Bolt is a walking Stanley Cup encylopedia, and can immediately point out its flaws, such as the mistake engraved on it following the 1980-81 season when the world "Islanders" is spelled "Ilanders".
But his greatest responsibility is to keep the most famous trophy in the world protected at all costs.
Whether he’s at one of those parties…
“Anytime the Stanley Cup ends up in a pool, it’s not good," Bolt said. "I know the press and a lot of people talk about it, but salt water and chlorine are really not good for the Stanley Cup, so part of our job is to make sure we keep the Cup safe. And we want to protect it for another 100 years.”
Or in a war zone in Afghanistan…
“When the guys came back into the barracks afterward, they were all like, ‘Mike, what were you doing during the missle attack?’" Bolt said. "I was like, what? ‘No, we were under attack, what were you doing?’ I was sitting on the Cup case reading a magazine. They were like, ‘Wow, you’re really dedicated to your job!’”
For Mike Bolt, spending all that time with the Stanley Cup has been a life changing experience.
“Here in Tampa, Jay Feaster got invited to Kennedy Space Center," Bolt said. "We got to have the Cup on the launch pad just outside the shuttle. We even had it on the shuttle. That was an amazing thing, because I found out we saw more than one percent of NASA employees have ever seen.”
Being a "Keeper of the Cup" has given Bolt the opportunity to meet presidents, movie stars, and rock stars.
He's traveled to places he'd never imagine visiting and seen hockey players experience some of the greatest days of their lives.
“It’s a cool job," Bolt said. "It’s a great people watching job. People always tell me I have the greatest job in the world. My answer is, I have the second greatest job in the world. I think the greatest job is getting to play for it. That’s what I would have liked to have done, but I was just not that good of a hockey player. So second best thing: get a job at the Hall of Fame and get appointed to be one of the Keepers of the Cup.”
Lord Stanley would certainly be proud.