OHS recently welcomed a hometown hero back to where it all started.

On Aug. 19, Stanley Cup champion and 2007 OHS alumnus Patrick Maroon decided to give OHS a visit. He stopped by for an interview with students from the broadcast and newspaper programs.

Maroon was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 6th round (161st overall) in the 2007 NHL entry level draft. However, before his historical season with the Blues, the 31-year- old left winger made his NHL debut with the Anaheim Ducks. He also spent time with the Edmonton Oilers and the New Jersey Devils before signing a one-year, 1.75 million dollar contract with his hometown team. 

Maroon made headlines when he scored in double overtime in Game 7 against the Dallas Stars to send the Blues to the Western Conference Finals, earning him the title “hometown hero.” 

“A kid from St. Louis, playing for his hometown team, making a difference in the playoffs, and for me to score the goal to advance us to the Conference Finals is a goal I will never forget,” Maroon said.

This is the first time in franchise history the Blues have won the Stanley Cup. June 12, 2019 — the night the Blues beat the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals — is a day that not only the fans will remember forever, but the players as well.

“To win a Stanley Cup with my hometown is truly amazing,” said Maroon. “It’s been a good summer.”

Despite the ending every fan can only dream of, the beginning of the season wasn’t so magical. The Blues had to fire head coach Mike Yeo, were dead last in the NHL as of Jan. 3, and appeared to be anything but playoff contenders. Everyone counted St. Louis down and out, and felt as though things were never going to change until current head coach Craig Berube brought out rookie Jordan Binnington on Jan. 7, where “he stood on his head” against the Philadelphia Flyers, with “Binner” earning a shutout in a 3-0 Blues victory. 

“When Coach Berube took over, he had a mentality of how we wanted to play, and we brought that to the ice,” said Maroon. “With Jordan Binnington in the back of the net, I thought he played really good. He was the driver of the bus. He got us going every night. Binner and Berube got us playing the right way. That’s the reason we came out.”

Even though a lot of credit is going to Berube and Binnington, they could not have done it without players like Maroon. But before the magnificent turnaround, he got off to a slow start.  In the beginning of the season he tallied just four goals in his first 58 games. But as things started to turn around, he scored six goals in the last 15 games of the regular season. 

“It was tough in the beginning,” claimed Maroon. “I think when you go through times like that, and you struggle, you look in the mirror a little bit and find how you‘re playing. But it all goes back to how we came back together as a team, and when you feel good about yourself you have confidence.” 

Maroon recently signed a 1-year, 900,000 dollar contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but he will never forget the relationships he built with the Blues and the St. Louis fans.

“I think the way we started playing is because we became closer in the locker room,” said Maroon. “I’ve built so many good relationships. This is a team I will never forget, and they’ll all be my best friends.”

Even though Maroon won’t be wearing the Blue Note this upcoming season, Oakville, and the entire city of St. Louis will always support their hometown hero.