Jakub Vrana is the man to follow (on Instagram) during the offseason
The Washington Capitals’ post-Stanley Cup antics were the actions of legends. There was fountain swimming, tattoos and partying with the fans. No one lived it up more than rookie forward Jakub Vrana.
There was something so beautiful about the Washington Capitals losing their minds over their first Stanley Cup win in franchise history. Private, quiet parties were not on the menu. Instead, the merry band of misfits paraded the Cup around to bars, restaurants, party buses and the like. This win belonged to the entire city of Washington, and the Caps wanted to hammer that home.
Few more so than rookie Jakub Vrana, who was an unlikely hero during this last playoff run. Originally, Vrana was expected to sit on the bench for most of the postseason. He had pulled off a very solid rookie season during regulation, with 27 total points garnered. But when Boone Jenner injured Andre Burakovsky during round one, it was up to Barry Trotz to find a quick replacement.
After rotating in a few of the younger, greener players, it became glaringly obvious that Vrana was a magic pick. He hit his stride assisting two of the biggest names in the game, T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin.
Throughout the playoffs, Vrana’s playing style became clear — fast, showy, not overly consistent but always so close.
This style seemed to carry into his offseason celebrations as he danced in a Kuznetsov jersey on a party bus, screamed that he’d rather be “hit with a puck” than endure the pain of a tattoo (this was mid-tattoo), and curated an adorable Instagram story consisting of him complimenting his teammates individually.
Many fans are expecting the party to continue when the Cup goes home with Vrana to the Czech Republic on July 11. However, Vrana has a more heartfelt plan for its destination. He intends to take it to his grandmother’s grave, as she died before his rookie season came to its glorious conclusion.
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That being said, Vrana has a whole day with the Cup. This means there’s still plenty of time to make a few more regretful decisions and post them on the internet for the entire world to enjoy.