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Chronicles of Stanley: Players' days start, Scott Darling and dad get inked

The Chronicles of Stanley is an occasional series this summer that tracks the Chicago Blackhawks as they each get their special alone time with the Stanley Cup.

Did you know Scott Darling is the first Chicago-area raised player to win the Stanley Cup? True story.

Chicago's backup goaltender is from Lemont, Illinois, about 40 minutes (according to Google Maps) outside of the city. He was given the honor of being the first Blackhawks player to have his day with the Cup.

And how did he and his loved ones celebrate the championship? By getting tattoos, of course.

Prior to Lord Stanley's arrival, Darling went to Michael Figueroa at Spider Tattooz to get a large black and white tattoo commemorating the win. Also included in the drawing of the Cup and the Chicago skyline is a 'CR' in honor of the Blackhawks late assistant equipment manager Clint Rief who passed away during the season.

Check out the final product that took four hours to complete (via WGN):

Courtesy of WGN
Courtesy of WGN

Darling's tattoo is epic, but it's the surprise ink that made the celebration even better.

Unbeknownst to the netminder, the night before the party in Lemont, Darling's dad, Scott Darling Sr., went to Figueroa and had a tattoo of his own put on his forearm; one of his son lifting the holy grail. Dad unveiled the art to his son prior to the start of the festivities.

Courtesy of Mike Bolt/Hockey Hall of Fame
Courtesy of Mike Bolt/Hockey Hall of Fame

Mr. Darling is following the footsteps of proud fathers before him. Last summer, Tyler Toffoli's dad etched the Kings victory into his arm forever.

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter!