The Hockey Stop

President Obama welcomed the 2009 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins to the White House on Thursday for a special ceremony honoring the team.

The players gathered in front of a digital camera-snapping audience inside the East Room (the event was moved inside to due to inclement weather) as the president and head coach Dan Bylsma entered the room.

Pennsylvania dignitaries in attendance included Senators Bob Casey and Arlen Specter; and Representatives Mike Doyle, Jason Altmire, Chris Carney, Tim Murphy and Glenn Thompson.

Also joining the ceremony was Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, a Pittsburgh native; Penguins owner Mario Lemieux; and the first black player in the NHL, Willie O'Ree.

The president congratulated Sidney Crosby on becoming the youngest captain to win a Stanley Cup and acknowledged Evgeni Malkin as the third youngest player to win the Conn Smythe trophy as playoffs MVP.

"There is something special about the Stanley Cup other than it just being really big," said Obama as he looked to his left at the famous trophy on display. "Winning this trophy takes a whole new level of sacrifice. It takes a group of players who can persevere through injuries and pain and setbacks and seven game series. Above all, it takes a team that is willing to stick together because nobody wins the Stanley Cup on their own."

The president then tied in his theme of volunteerism and service to the summer journey the Pens took the Stanley Cup on as a thank you to the fans. The comments were especially poignant given that the next day was the eighth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. For the first time since the attacks, Obama officially declared September 11th as "National Day of Service and Remembrance" to honor the victims of the attack by uniting the country in shared sacrifice through volunteer activities.

"This is a team that understands that being a champion doesn't end when you step off the ice. Service is a way of life for these players back in Pittsburgh," said Obama.

The president went on to thank the Penguins players and O'Ree for earlier in the day putting on a hockey clinic for the kids at Fort Dupont Ice Rink in Southeast Washington, D.C. The players and O'Ree also taught the children about the importance of staying in school and living a healthy and active lifestyle.

The mostly African-American kids from Fort Dupont joined the ceremony at the White House.

Crosby and Bylsma presented Obama a Pens jersey with his name and the number 44 on the back. The team and the president then posed for pictures with the Stanley Cup.

Here is the video of the ceremony: