Florida Panthers' Marchand Visits Sunrise Dairy Queen

Brad Marchand surprised fans at the Sunrise DQ where he stopped pre‑Game 6, just days after the Panthers' Stanley Cup victory.

By Nicole Lopez-Alvar

June 20, 2025

Image: Brad Marchand surprises fans at the Sunrise Dairy Queen to launch his DQ Blizzard for one day, which is where he went the day the Panthers won the Stanley Cup.

Brad Marchand surprises fans at the Sunrise Dairy Queen to launch his DQ Blizzard for one day, which is where he went the day the Panthers won the Stanley Cup. Screenshot via X/@KatieEngleson

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It's official: No one celebrates a championship win with their community quite like our Florida Panthers. Just hours after Panthers players were seen celebrating their second straight Stanley Cup championship win in the most Miami way possible (at Miami nightclub E11even whilst crowd surfing), two Panthers players woke up early enough after a late night out to get to "work."

In the most South Florida post-Stanley Cup celebration imaginable, right wing Sam Reinhart clocked in at Raising Cane's in Tamarac on the morning of Friday, June 20, slinging chicken fingers like a pro. But Reinhart wasn't the only Panther working a celebratory "shift" on Friday.

In the DQ news Panthers fans have been waiting for, at 11 a.m., fan favorite Brad Marchand made a surprise appearance at the Dairy Queen in Sunrise. This is the same one where he was spotted grabbing a pre-game treat with fans the night before Game 6 on Tuesday, when they won their second straight Stanley Cup final.

Since that now-legendary pit stop, fans had been begging Marchand to make a visit to the DQ, which may have sealed the deal. The shop on Hiatus Road has officially become part of Panthers folklore, with fans dubbing it the team's unofficial good-luck charm.

The Dairy King is here @DairyQueen pic.twitter.com/eg813Il4Tu
— Katie Engleson (@KatieEngleson) June 20, 2025

In honor of the superstition-turned-tradition, Marchand went behind the counter on Friday to serve free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzards, his favorite flavor of all time. The Blizzards were renamed for the day "The Brad Blizzard." While wearing a Dairy Queen shirt, he even did the famous upside-down "Blizzard test" to see if the Blizzard would stick when turned upside down, and sure enough, it did.

“Thank you Boston” chants have broken out in DQ.

Brad Marchand responds, “Thank you, Dairy Queen!” pic.twitter.com/LYhd1rdM7o
— Katie Engleson (@KatieEngleson) June 20, 2025

Dozens of Panthers fans lined up early to get served by the Stanley Cup champ himself, turning the Sunrise DQ into a full-on celebration zone. Jerseys and rally chants filled the ice cream shop, with people hilariously chanting, "Thank you, Boston!" after Marchand went on Instagram last night to thank the former teams of each of his hockey mates.

Marchand responded, "Thank you, Dairy Queen!" (This shows us that DQ will officially be the team's good luck charm from now on.)

click to enlarge

The popular chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard has been named "The Brad Blizzard" for one day only in honor of Marchand visiting DQ the day of the major Stanley Cup win

Screenshot via X/@KatieEngleson

The Dairy Queen Stop That Started it All

On the day of Game 6, Florida Panthers TV Rinkside Reporter Katie Engelson shared a photo that immediately went viral on X and Instagram of Panthers players, including Marchand, grabbing DQ Blizzards the day before they ended up winning the Stanley Cup final.

I can report that the Florida Panthers went to Dairy Queen last night ahead of Game 6.

FLA was undefeated on the road when going to DQ the night before a game, so the Panthers thought it was necessary to make a visit for the first time at home on Monday.

THE DESSERT OF… pic.twitter.com/Qk7WSTZJ7y
— Katie Engleson (@KatieEngleson) June 18, 2025

She writes, "I can report that the Florida Panthers went to Dairy Queen last night ahead of Game 6. Florida was undefeated on the road when going to DQ the night before a game, so the Panthers thought it was necessary to make a visit for the first time at home on Monday."

Therefore, in the words of Engleson, Dairy Queen truly is the "dessert of Champions" from here on out.

"The Brad Blizzard" will only be available on Friday, June 20, until close.

Nicole Lopez-Alvar is the food editor of Miami New Times, a position she has been honored to take on since December 2023. Prior to her work at Miami New Times, she was a digital journalist covering breaking news, restaurants, arts, and culture at WPLG Local 10 News and WSVN 7 News. When she’s not writing about restaurants and chefs for her day job, Nicole can be found blogging about food on her personal Instagram account. Nicole received a BS in communications from the University of Miami, where she studied broadcast journalism. Readers might have seen her on the 23rd season of ABC's The Bachelor and the sixth season of Bachelor in Paradise.

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