The Stanley Cup next month will make its third trip to Manchester, but this time the visit will have a special meaning.

The Manchester Monarchs announced on Tuesday that the Los Angeles Kings, the Monarchs’ parent club and the defending Stanley Cup champions, will bring the Cup to Manchester on Sunday, Sept. 16 for a Stanley Cup rally on the plaza at Verizon Wireless Arena.

“The Manchester community has been instrumental in the success of the Los Angeles Kings organization,” said Monarchs president Darren Abbott. “Many of the key players on the Kings’ roster spent time developing their skills in Manchester. It is a great honor to share in the celebration of the Kings’ Stanley Cup victory and we are proud to bring festivities to Monarchs Country.”

The Kings won the Stanley Cup in June with a roster that featured 14 players who skated as Manchester Monarchs at one time or another, including captain Dustin Brown and Conn Smythe MVP goaltender Jonathan Quick.

“It has been here before but now all of us feel that we’ve earned it,” said Hubie McDonough, Monarchs director of hockey operations. “It’s not just a Cup visit. It’s something where if you look at the names (from the Kings) that are going to be on the Cup, we had a hand in getting them to where they ended up and winning it.”

McDonough is a Manchester native and bringing the Cup home has extra meaning for him.

“I’m happy to be part of it and I’m proud of my heritage and being from Manchester and bringing the Cup back,” he said. “I couldn’t do it as a player so I had to do it in the management realm.”

McDonough won the small college Hobey Baker Memorial Award at St. Anselm in 1985 and went on to play 13 professional seasons, including 195 NHL games with the Kings, New York Islanders and San Jose Sharks.

“There was one season I played in the Stanley Cup playoffs and it didn’t happen for me,” McDonough said of winning the Cup. “This is the next best thing. There’s a lot of people who played a lot of years of hockey and never got to lift it in any fashion, so I feel fortunate to have been a part of it this year.”

The announcement means McDonough can finally confirm that the Stanley Cup will indeed be in town.

“I can’t tell you how many people have asked me over and over ‘Is the Cup coming? Is the Cup coming?’” McDonough said. “Now they all know and I hope to have some time with my family and friends around the Cup. I think they do feel it and they are excited even though a lot of them are Bruins fans.”

McDonough said he thinks that Monarchs fans and the community should (and do) feel that the Stanley Cup win belongs to them, as well.

“It gives legitimacy to what we do here in Manchester,” he said. “All the people have their small part in getting those guys there and cheering them on and being part of history that the Kings made this past season.”

The Stanley Cup rally will be held from 5 to 5:30 p.m. on the plaza for anyone who wants to come out to see the Cup. At 5:30, the Cup will move inside the arena for a ticketed event exclusive to Monarchs ticket package holders.

During the ticketed event, fans will have the opportunity to get their picture taken with the Stanley Cup by Monarchs team photographer Steve Babineau for a donation to the Monarchs Care Foundation. The Monarchs will provide a website for fans to download their pictures from following the event for no additional cost.

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Ian Clark may be reached at iclark@unionleader.com.