Colorado Avalanche parade through downtown Denver in celebration of Stanley Cup win

The Avs lead the crowd at the Stanley Cup championship rally in a rendition of "All The Small Things" by Blink 182. 

The song has become an anthem for the Avs as they made their way to the Stanley Cup Final and then took the cup. 

The crowd at Civic Center Park belted out the lyrics as they sang along with the Avs players. 

Sports anchor Michael Spencer paid tribute to the zamboni drivers during the Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup parade.

"Those guys play a key part in making sure that ice is smooth and hard and these skaters ... can go as fast as possible when they are on the ice."

Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog carried the Stanley Cup onto the stage at Civic Center Park for the championship rally.

The Avs Stanley Cup Championship rally began at Civic Center Park after the parade through downtown Denver. It began with the Conn Smythe Trophy which is awarded annually to the most valuable player of his team during the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoffs.

The trophy is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general manager, and head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Avs Stanley Cup Championship rally is bringing together fans of all ages. CBS4 Sports Richie Cozzolino interviewed some young fans at Civic Center Park. 

Thank goodness Mikko Rantanen isn't an outfielder for the Rockies! The Avs star missed all the beers that were tossed to him, but he still found a way to the Denver parade crowd hyped up.

Are these the cutest fans at today's parade for the Avalanche? Two sisters holding a Stanley Cup championship flag in Civic Center Park told CBS4 This Morning anchor Michelle Griego they watched all of Colorado's playoff games this year.

They say their favorite player is Cale Makar.

Fans are gathered outside of the Denver City and County Building for the Colorado Avalanche victory rally.  

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Civic Center Park as the Avs Stanley Cup championship parade made its way through downtown Denver. 

• Click here to see more fans at Civic Center Park for the Avs celebration 
  

Tens of thousands of Avs fans lined the Stanley Cup championship parade route as players made their way from Union Station to Civic Center Park. 

The Stanley Cup made an appearance at the parade with captain Gabriel Landeskog. 

The DU Pioneers joined the Avs parade to show off their 9th National Championship in hockey. The Pios 9 national titles in Ice Hockey ties for the most ever.

Colorado Avalanche players celebrated their Stanley Cup championship by climbing on top of firetrucks and joining the victory parade in downtown Denver Thursday morning. 

The Stanley Cup parade is getting going. The Colorado Avalanche players are on top of Denver fire engines and the trophy will be paraded through the city.

There are road closures and RTD changes during the Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup parade and rally in downtown Denver on Thursday. RTD encouraged fans to take public transportation to avoid traffic and parking issues.

The parade route is from Union Station to Civic Center Park and begins at 10 a.m. The parade and rally are expected to last about 4 hours.  

The CBS News Colorado team is stationed and ready for the Stanley Cup parade! Jim Benemann and Romi Bean are in LoDo and Karen Leigh and Michael Spencer are at Civic Center Park. We've also got more crews in other places along the Colorado Avalanche parade route.

CBS4 has reporters positioned throughout downtown Denver -- including Justin Adams at Civic Center Park -- as Avs fans get ready for the Stanley Cup parade downtown.

All eyes are on the forecast for downtown Denver on Thursday with so many coming into the city to celebrate the Colorado Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup, reports First Alert Meteorologist Chris Spears.

"It will be a cloudy and somewhat humid day (by Denver standards) with the threat for passing showers after 9 a.m. and thunderstorms by noon. We could see occasional rounds of storms into the evening hours."

Some Avalanche fans gathered before daybreak as they were getting ready to celebrate Thursday's parade and rally in Denver. CBS4's Justin Adams reported on CBS4 This Morning that some fans had been in Civic Center Park here since 4:30 a.m.

CBS4 Morning Anchor Michelle Griego got to have a Zoom sit-down with Gov. Jared Polis to talk all about the Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup Champions ahead of the parade and celebration in Denver.

Polis was proud of the commanding playoff run he said the Avs had throughout the entire quest for the Cup, while still facing moments of adversity filled with exciting narratives for individual players on the ice, who helped bring the Stanley Cup back to Denver and the state.

A day before the parade the Colorado Avalanche visited Coors Field with the Stanley Cup. The Associated Press reported that the Rockies crowd "roared" as captain Gabriel Landeskog "lugged in the Stanley Cup from left field and hoisted it above his head."

Landeskog also threw out the first pitch.