Mike Bolt may look like just about anyone you might bump into on the street.

But he's not.

Bolt is the "Keeper of the Cup." That means he is one of only three men charged with the security and safekeeping of the Stanley Cup, professional sports' oldest and most cherished trophy.

If Bolt didn't think he had a great job, he was reminded of it recently when he took the Stanley Cup on a visit to the NHL's headquarters in New York City.

While in midtown Manhattan, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said to him, "You've got an awesome job."

"I'm thinking, 'Gary Bettman's got an awesome job, and he does an awesome job,' when I realized he's right. I do have an awesome job," Bolt said.

Bolt is one of three Hockey Hall of Fame employees who transport and protect the Stanley Cup as it travels for more than 300 days a year to be displayed at hospitals, charity fundraisers, NHL arenas and local hockey rinks, players' hometowns and other venues.

The traveling security unit was created in 1995 to efficiently display and safeguard the Cup.

The days of players kicking the Stanley Cup into Ottawa's Rideau Canal after a night of carousing or waking to find the Cup at the bottom of a pool are over. In 1995, a new tradition was started: Making sure every Stanley Cup-winning player has a chance to have the Cup for a day.

Bolt, Phil Pritchard and Paul Oak ensure that principle is upheld.

"It's not a job that you can call in sick. Too many people are depending on you," Bolt said. "The players put a lot of effort into putting their 'day' together. You have to make sure you get there on time. You want them to enjoy their time with the Cup because this is something they've dreamed about all their lives."

Bolt said that on a typical player's day, he arrives between 6 and 7 a.m. and is met by about 30 to 40 friends and family of the Cup-winning player. Typically, the first stop is at a local hospital, often the children's ward. Then, there is a parade and a display in a downtown park where the player signs autographs.

The Stanley Cup never sleeps as it travels upwards of 300 days per year.

Many players try to schedule a charity event, like a golf tournament, in the afternoon, Bolt said. At night, they'll schedule a party for up to 300 of their closest friends.

The players are usually pretty good about letting Bolt and his partners leave with the Cup so they can get to the hometown of the next player on time.

"It's a busy Cup. We try to make sure that everyone involved with the team, the players, coaches, and management, get their time with the Stanley Cup," he said. "Last summer, Larry Robinson told me that was the most time he ever spent with the Cup and he won six of them as a player. So, this is a good thing."

North American fans love to see the Stanley Cup. They were going bonkers on Manhattan's West Side recently as ABC Sports did outdoor promotional videos for its upcoming Stanley Cup telecast, Bolt said.

"People were pouring out of office buildings to see it and cars were honking their horns as they passed by," he said.

As revered as the Stanley Cup is in North America, Bolt wasn't prepared for the reaction in the Czech Republic last spring when he brought it to the hometowns of Petr Sykora and Patrik Elias.

"They have a huge reaction to the Stanley Cup in Europe. When we got off the plane in the Czech Republic there were so many people there it looked like they were greeting the Stanley Cup winning team," Bolt said. "They had us off the plane before any one else and we went into a press conference that reminded me of the Stanley Cup Finals, there was so much media there.

"Every town we went into -- we went to seven towns with Petr Sykora -- there were a 1,000 people there to see the Cup. It was like we were traveling with an international superstar. I guess that's what the Stanley Cup is."

Bolt said Scott Niedermayer found the most unusual place to display the Stanley Cup: the highest peak in British Columbia.

"Scott enjoys mountain climbing and he had scaled that peak before," Bolt said. "He had to do a lot of convincing before Paul Oak would agree to it. Scott rented two helicopters. One took Scott, Paul and a photographer and the other took his family and friends. They unloaded Scott and the Stanley Cup at the peak, then the helicopter lifted off and circled the peak so the photographer could get his shots. They're the best pictures of the Stanley Cup that I've seen."

There have been heartbreaking and heartwarming moments as well. The Devils arranged a hospital visit last summer for a longtime fan who was dying of cancer.

Mike Bolt has the enviable title of "Keeper of the Cup."

"We had a stop scheduled last year in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and I learned that Bill Ranford, the goalie with Edmonton in 1990, never got a day with the Stanley Cup," Bolt said. "His mother had never seen him with the trophy that he won. We brought it over to a friend's house and everyone had a great time."

Bolt thinks few people had a better time with the Stanley Cup than Martin Brodeur.

"He wanted to share the Cup with his children so he asked them what they wanted to do. They said they wanted to go to the movies and see "The Kid." We waited until the previews ended and slipped into the theatre. The kids filled the bowl with popcorn and ate from the Stanley Cup. It was a nice family day."

Bolt is a good choice for the job. He likes to help people and their pleasure is his reward. He also has a great reverence for the Stanley Cup and for hockey. A high-school varsity player in his native Toronto, Bolt played on in the rugged Metro Toronto Hockey League and still plays in men's league games when his schedule permits.

"It's the greatest game. It's got every aspect you could want in a sport: Speed, agility, talent and toughness," Bolt said. "The Stanley Cup has the greatest tradition in all of sports. You may remember who won the 1976 World Series, but do you remember everyone who was on the winning team? Probably not, but in hockey the names of the winners are right here on the Stanley Cup."

Bolt has embarked on an 18-city tour to support the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer charity. On April 16, the Cup was on display at the Boston Marathon. Dallas Stars General Manager Bob Gainey, whose wife, Cathy, died of brain cancer in 1995, ran in the marathon.

John McGourty is a producer for NHL.com