NYKVARN, Sweden -- The band had been playing for an hour, alternating Bruce Springsteen covers with covers of Tomas Ledin, the Swedish equivalent of "the Boss," when they took a break. The MC stepped up and led the crowd into the "Viking war chant," which the fans of Iceland's soccer team made famous during the Euro 2016 tournament in June.
Their screams of "uh, uh, uh, uh" echoed in the Nykvarns Folkets Park, or People's Park, before ending in huge applause. The band switched to Tina Turner's 1989 hit "The Best," there was smoke in the air, about a thousand people waved Swedish and American flags, many wearing Pittsburgh Penguins sweaters, waiting for a back door to open.
And when it opened, Carl Hagelin walked in with the Stanley Cup. From the stage, he could see the yard where he used to play soccer when he was in elementary school in the small town of Nykvarn. (Like Newfoundlanders, people in Nykvarn interestingly stress the latter half of the name, [New-KVARN]. The name means "new mill" in Swedish, and apparently, it's the mill that's the important part.)
Hagelin was 13 when he left Nykvarn's school system to go to school in Södertälje, the bigger town about 40 minutes south of Stockholm. When it was time for high school, he opted for one with focus on hockey in nearby Järna, and when it was time for higher education, he left Sweden for the University of Michigan.
But when he got his 16 hours with the Cup, he wanted to bring it back to where it all began. To Nykvarn, population of about 6,000 and 50 minutes south of Stockholm. The town's Wikipedia page lists two people under "famous people from Nykvarn." Carl Hagelin is not one of them. Not yet, anyway.
For an hour he stood next to the Cup, and then did knee-bends posing for photos with everybody from old friends to old friends' kids, from older men to younger ladies, and from younger men to older ladies.
"It was fun to see some faces that I hadn't really seen since sixth grade. It feels good to see that they still follow my career and believe in what I do," Hagelin told ESPN.com. "It's wonderful to be able to share this with my old friends and acquaintances."
Before taking the Cup to Nykvarn, Hagelin made a stop at the Södertälje Scaniarinken, the home arena of the only team he's even represented in Sweden. While other Södertälje players have won the Cup -- for example, Mats Hallin (1982, 1983) with the New York Islanders and Mikael Samuelsson (2008) with the Detroit Red Wings -- it was the first time the Stanley Cup had been at the arena.
"It was pretty obvious to me that I'd bring the Cup to the arena and Nykvarn. I've been to Södertälje's games since I was a kid and Nykvarn is where I grew up," said Hagelin, who added that the only thing missing from the Scaniarinken's event were the fans' chants.
It wasn't just the pure joy of sharing his happiness with the Nykvarn people that made Hagelin take the Cup to the People's Park. He came back with a message.
"I was something of a late bloomer, but the love for the game pushed me forward," he told the audience in Swedish. "The most important thing is to enjoy what you do, and then to work hard at it."
It was his brother Bobbie, now the Calgary Flames' European amateur scout, who was the first star of the family. He represented Sweden on all junior national teams, and it was Bobbie, four years senior, who taught Carl how to work hard in the offseason.
"I think he was about 14 when he asked me if I could help him with that," Bobbie Hagelin told ESPN.com. "And he has the capacity to work, which is why he's here today. And he's smart."
That's why Carl Hagelin, before stepping down from the stage for the photo opportunities, left the Nykvarn kids with another message.
"Make sure you work hard at school too," he said.
Carl's and Bobbie's careers took very different paths. Bobbie made the junior national teams and made the Södertälje Swedish league team as an 18-year-old, while Carl -- considered too small -- took the college hockey route, never having graduated from the Södertälje juniors to the men's team. He wasn't drafted in his draft year and had to wait an additional year before the New York Rangers choose him in the sixth round in 2007.
"I wanted to take the Cup here as a reminder of the fact that as long as you work hard, you can reach your dreams," Carl Hagelin told ESPN. "It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from."
Hagelin crouched, smiled, shook hands with the fans and posed for selfies while the Nykvarn municipality's chairman of the city council spoke, recounting the accomplishments of their latest hero, before introducing Hagelin's fiancée, Erika, standing in the crowd, wearing a Penguins cap. Bobbie was the only member of the Hagelin family not wearing anything Penguins related. "He's not allowed to," his father, Boris, said with a smile.
At Scaniarinken, just as Hagelin was about to pick up the trophy and move on to Nykvarn, the music switched from Queen's "We Are the Champions" -- which had been playing in a loop with the official Södertälje SK song -- to "Just Came Back," by Canadian blues rocker Colin James, which includes the lyrics, "I just came back/To say goodbye." But Hagelin is not back to say goodbye.
"The next goal is to win the World Cup of Hockey with Sweden and then go for back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Penguins," he told the cheering crowd.
Nykvarn city council is going to keep a close eye on the playoffs next year.