By Rebecca Rose & Jamie Enos, WPAOG Staff
West Point grads are so nice, they brought the Stanley Cup back twice! NHL Florida Panthers owner and West Point graduate Vincent Viola ’77 brought the team and fellow members of the Long Gray Line, along with the prestigious Stanley Cup, back to his Rockbound Highland Home on Friday.
Viola, a member of the West Point Ready Campaign Cabinet, and the team started the Cup tour in the Thayer Award Room, where they met with West Point’s 61st Superintendent LTG Steve Gilland ’90, First Captain CDT Robinson ’24 and Army West Point Men’s Hockey Team Captains CDT Joey Baez ’24, CDT Andrew Gilbert ’24, and CDT Michael Sacco ’24. The cadets presented the Panthers team a cadet saber and the Panthers presented the cadets with jerseys.
A highlight of the day occurred during lunch at the Cadet Mess Hall, when the Stanley Cup was raised on the poop deck, allowing Panthers team captains Sasha Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad to present the cup to the cheering Corps. Both the Panthers and Army West Point hockey teams shared lunch. After, the Army team and Head Coach Brian Riley presented Panthers owner Viola, President and CEO Matt Caldwell ’02, COO Bryce Hollweg ’08 and VP of Programming and Development Keith Fine ’08, with specialized Army jerseys featuring their individual West Point class years except for Caldwell who was given the year he became President and CEO.
Caldwell, Hollweg, and Fine then moved to a classroom in Washington Hall where they gave back to their alma mater by gripping hands with cadets and members of West Point staff to discuss leadership insights moderated by COL Sean Morrow ’01.
When asked about the Long Gray Line and their time at West Point, Fine stated, “Just the experiences I had at West Point, the time in the army, the tools and just management of people, managing the processes, managing things, it could be any industry, but those three things are so key to management, and West Point will teach you all those tools. If you practice it and hone in on it during your time here and in the military, you’ll be successful in any industry that you go into.” Fine continued, “The network alone is just unbelievable. It will carry with you throughout your time here in the military and in the civilian world. Try to take advantage of all the opportunities and experiences that West Point has to offer.”
Echoing on the power of the Long Gray Line, Hollweg advised, “It’s not about who you know, it’s about who knows you. And if you think about that, we all know thousands of people that we may or may not do things for but through my career, and my development in the army, it was those people that I had left an impression on at some point that had reached back out and gave me my next opportunity. So, when you have that opportunity to leave an impression, always give your best, put your best foot forward. Those people that matter later on in life will reach back out to you.” Hollweg then shared that the predecessor to his job had given his name to Viola and Caldwell leading to the cold call that brought him to work with the Panthers.
Caldwell then spoke to the leaders of character West Point produces and the strength of the members of the Long Gray Line. “It’s really hard to appreciate how special this place is when I was in your shoes, the further you get away from it, the more you appreciate it,” said Caldwell. “This place is so majestic, it’s got history, it’s got character and that brings a lot of expectation. Vinnie wasn’t trying to hook me up, or mentor me, or give me a fair shake, he said, ‘I tried everything in the industry, I got to go with a West Pointer, someone I can trust.’” Cadwell went on, “Be the best Cadet you can possibly be now; you never know what doors that’s going to open. Go into the army and be the best officer you can possibly be.”
Meanwhile, Panthers players went to learn the ways of West Point by exploring the West Point Simulation Center (Sim Center), where cadets use a full spectrum of technology-based simulation training programs to enhance training and research in the areas of marksmanship, synthetic mounted maneuver, eSports, accelerated human cognitive decision-making and mission command planning and communications.
The team and the Cup then made their way to Washington Statue and Trophy Point for photos with Viola and the team before moving to Eisenhower Hall where members of the West Point community excitedly waited for the team and Cup’s arrival. Panthers players mingled and signed autographs while the public took photos with the Cup.
Viola’s classmates were also in attendance to support him and celebrate his success.
LTC (R) George D. Mitroka ’77 spoke to Viola’s character, “Vinnie is just a super guy. He’s very humble, very respected by the rest of our classmates. We played sprint football together. He was always a great sport, a leader on the team, and he has done tremendous work here for the Academy. We’re just so proud of him. We had a mini reunion for this,” he said.
Viola is not new to sports. A life-long horse racing enthusiast, he owns the 2017 Kentucky Derby and Florida Derby winning horse, Always Dreaming, the 2019 Breeder’s Cup Classic winner, Vino Rosso, and the 2023 Florida Derby winner, Forte. Recognized in 2021 by Sports Business Journal for his advocacy in diverse and inclusive hiring, Viola is one of four team owners on the NHL’s Executive Inclusion Council to combat racism and accelerate diversity. Since purchasing the Florida Panther’s in 2013, his leadership, investments in local community and dedication to the growing game of hockey in Florida lead to a 2021-2022 Presidents Trophy win as well as a Prince of Wales trophy in consecutive seasons in 2023 and 2024.
Viola, Caldwell, Hollweg and Fine ended their day at Tate Rink in the Holleder Center dropping the puck for the Army West Point Men’s Hockey home opener against Bentley University.
After a full day engaging with cadets and learning about West Point, the team departed to prepare to play the New York Islanders on Saturday at UBS Arena.
