SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – In early June, a Vermont man got his hands on the most coveted trophy in junior hockey. On Monday, he got the chance to take it home and hopefully inspire the next generation. “It’s such an honor,” Saginaw Spirit defenseman PJ Forgione said. “I’ve probably been following this tournament since I was five or six. It was broadcast all over the NHL network. The trophy is at the Hockey Hall of Fame most of the year.” Forgione, from South Burlington, has spent the past three winters playing for the Spirit in the Ontario Hockey League. The OHL is one of three regional leagues that make up the top league in junior hockey: the Canadian Hockey League. “So you’ve got the Ontario Hockey League, the Quebec Major Junior and then you’ve got the WHL (Western Hockey League),” Forgione said. Every spring, four teams compete for the CHL championship title. “The Memorial Cup, the winners of the three leagues come into this tournament, and then there’s a host team,” Forgione explained. “We unfortunately lost in the conference finals to the London Knights. They were in the tournament and we were the hosts.” But despite entering the tournament as underdogs, the Spirits ended up winning it all, defeating rival London in the finals. “It took us years to get there,” Forgione said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t the best the first year. We got a little better the second year. And then the third year we really stepped up. We have all the talent in the world. We had a lot of players and young players from the NHL. We really bonded after the conference final loss, and that really helped us a lot.” Today, it’s a time-honored tradition in hockey that each championship winner gets a day with the trophy. Forgione played for youth teams in the Burlington area in his younger years, so he wanted to help inspire the next generation at Cairns Arena. “This is the 802 Preseason Camp,” said Justin Martin, president of the Vermont Junior Catamounts. “This camp is for all the young Vermont hockey players getting ready for the season. We’re trying to get more Vermonters to play hockey at a higher level and PJ is an example of that.” “It’s so much fun because you’re with a lot of friends and the coaches are great,” said Junior Catamounts player Ellys Torney. “And to watch the Memorial Cup is just crazy.” Forgione had to move out of state to get noticed, but he believes there’s plenty of talent here in Vermont. “This place hasn’t fallen off the map that much,” he said. “There are still good players, but unfortunately you don’t find them as easily as some of these top spots like Michigan when you go to Ontario. In Vermont, it’s very hard to find them and you have to leave the state to find them.” Hopefully, some of the kids Forgione met Monday can be the next to bring home a major trophy. “It definitely inspires everybody,” junior Catamount Malin Wilde said. “Work hard to pursue your goals and dreams. I just want to have a fun, long hockey career and play D1 college hockey.” “I just think it’s great to get Vermont off the map,” Forgione said. “Everyone just has to keep working hard and having fun, and anything is possible from any location.” Forgione says he’s returning to Saginaw this winter for one final season and hopes to parlay that into professional hockey opportunities in the future.