Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman and Biddeford native Brian Dumoulin recently won the Stanley Cup – becoming the first Maine native to ever bring home the title.

Many locals are excited to see the 24-year-old’s success, including former teammate and University of New England forward Trevor Fleurent and brother Brady Fleurent, who also plays for UNE.

Dumoulin was part of two state championship teams with Biddeford before playing for Boston College. Trevor was Dumoulin’s teammate for both championships.

As a friend, Trevor Fleurent was thrilled for Dumoulin and his family, and considers him a natural leader.

“I know it’s really special to Brian and his family, the community has really been behind him and supporting him, so it’s been pretty surreal to see,” said Trevor Fleurent. “He’s won at every level up to now … he’s always been a winner.”

Biddeford is a well-rounded sports city, and the hockey program has caught on in recent years, much because of the impact that Dumoulin made during his tenure with the Tigers.

“Biddeford was a football town in my four years, but when playing with him the atmosphere was still crazy, playing in a Biddeford and (Thornton Academy) game was always great with the fans. Playing for Biddeford was always nuts,” said Trevor Fleurent.

Dumoulin also set an example for Biddeford’s younger players as well, including Brady Fleurent.

“It’s awesome, he works really hard,” said Brady Fleurent. “I remember watching him and my brother play together and dominating the state and it made me want to be the best I could be, it was a crazy atmosphere.”

With Dumoulin’s recent success along with hockey’s resurgence in the northeast, the Fleurent brothers hope to see more young athletes attracted to the sport in Maine.

“Hopefully Brian doing so well will put hockey on the map for Maine. I think that it shows that you can come from any state and play … Maine has a lot of talent, so hopefully the state will be on the map with him bringing a title back,” said Trevor Fleurent.

“I think this will get Maine on the map,” said Brady Fleurent. “Not everyone knows about hockey up here, so hopefully it will make people know about it.”

— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at [email protected] or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.