Hockey Influencer Mikayla Demaiter Riding With One Team in Stanley Cup Final

Mikayla Demaiter certainly knows the game of hockey: She actually played the sport. The Canadian model and social media personality with over three million followers on Instagram alone was a goaltender for the Bluewater Hawks in the Provincial Women's Hockey League before transitioning to a modeling career that has made her a superstar influencer in the field.

She was also born and raised in Chatham, Ontario, where hockey certainly is a way of life.

So when she weighs in on the 2026 Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights, it carries some weight behind it.

"I think I'm leaning Carolina this year," she told The Athlete Lifestyle. And the reason she gave gets to the heart of something a lot of hockey fans have been quietly feeling for years.

The Fleury Factor

Marc-Andre Fleury was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021 after winning the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL that same season with the Golden Knights, only to be shipped out for a minor-league prospect most fans had never heard of. Fleury shockingly found out about the trade via social media to make the news even more bitter.

For Demaiter, who as we mentioned is a former goaltender herself, was a moment she took personally.

"I grew up loving Marc-Andre Fleury, and I never really forgot the way Vegas moved on from him after everything he meant to that franchise," she said. "He was their first true face, led them through an unbelievable first year run, won a Vezina there, and then it still felt like they treated him like a business decision instead of a person."

Fleury was selected by Vegas in the 2017 expansion draft in T-Mobile Arena where he became the face of the franchise from the beginning. And then he was gone without even a phone call before the news hit social media.

"So for me there's something poetic about rooting against Vegas here," Demaiter said.

A Soft Spot in the Crease

There is another reason Carolina has her heart in this Cup Final, and it goes back to her years as a Toronto Maple Leafs fan growing up in southern Ontario.

Frederik Andersen spent five seasons with the Leafs before signing with the Hurricanes in July of 2021. Now, he's been the story of these playoffs, leading all goalies with an incredible .950 save percentage and a goals-against average of 1.12.

"I grew up watching the Leafs so I've always had a soft spot for Freddie Andersen since he was a Leaf for five seasons," Demaiter said. "It would be pretty special to see him and Carolina be the team to finally finish the job."

A Finals Worth Watching

Demaiter was also quick to push back on the chatter coming from Canadian fans who wrote off this matchup before it started.

"A lot of hockey fans and Canadians said they did not want to tune in with two southern teams in the final," she acknowledged. "But it has quickly become one of the best Stanley Cup Finals already."

She is not wrong. Through the first three games, this series has seen three one-goal games with overtime in Game 2, and two overtimes in Game 3 after a crazy four-goal comeback by the Hurricanes only to see Vegas break their hearts.

As a result, Vegas now holds a 2-1 series lead heading into the crucial Game 4 on Tuesday in Sin City.

"Two crazy comebacks, a wild Game 3, two overtimes," Demaiter said. "It is so exciting and the momentum changes in a millisecond."

From The Crease to the Couch

Demaiter's retired from hockey at the age of 19 due to a knee injury she suffered in June of 2019, which set in motion her new career that has made her one of the most-followed personalities in her lane.

The game she fell in love with has never left her, though, and she certainly has an opinion on goaltending to go along with a memory for how franchises treat players.

This Stanley Cup Final has a two goalie stories at its center. For Demaiter, that is more than enough reason to watch.

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