Former Nashua Silver Knights Kyle Bouchard, left, and Brett Anderson admire their 2020 FCBL championship rings during the pre-game ring ceremony at Thursday night's Nashua opener at Holman Stadium. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – The rings were the thing.

That’s what all the excitement was about for the Nashua Silver Knights and their fans on Opening Night on Thursday at Holman Stadium.

“It feels great to be back here,” Milford’s Brett Anderson, who was a first baseman/DH on last year’s team but leaves in three days to play for an Appalachian team n Greenville, Tenn. “It feels great to be back with the guys I won a ring with, like a family.”

Anderson said it was great to celebrate with the ring ceremony prior to Thursday night’s season opener vs. Worcester at Holman.

“This ring is awesome, it’s crazy,” Anderson said. “Very nice. It’s nice to have had this, be out here, with all the fans.”

For Kyle Bouchard, this ring was extra special, because he was the MVP of the series after batting over .400. And remember, he didn’t join the team until lured to Nashua by his former Nichols College teammate, Silver Knights general manager Cam Cook with about three weeks left in the season.

“It was crazy,” Bouchard said. “Just looking back at it, then seeing the ring in person, it really hits you, honestly. This is unreal.”

Bouchard said when he came to Nashua he didn’t think he’d be playing every day. The last thing he expected was to win an MVP in a championship series.

“I just wanted to show up and be a good team guy,” Bouchard said. “One hundred percent, I was not thinking about that. I was coming up here, just doing my thingh. I knew I could play at this level, but I just wanted to come up here and do whatever I could.”

Bouchard, who is going to be an assistant coach at Nichols, said he thought often this past winter of that whole Nashua experience.

“It helped me with my college season,” he said of his final year of playing at Nichols. “I think about it all the time. It was such a great experience here.

“It’s a great atmosphere, there’s a lot of fans, a lot of people. It’s a good vibe, a good atmosphere. I didn’t think it was going to be this good of an experience.”

Silver Knights owner John Creedon, Jr. said that Cook, assistant GM Katie Arend, and field manager Kyle Jackson all helped with the ring design.

“They’re pretty magnificent sparkly items,” Creedon said. “It was a fun off-season project for us.

“It’s a perfect night. … The players from last year’s championship squad, their eyes lit up when we presented them with their championship rings. It was great. It was nice for this year’s squad to have a look at that reaction and give them something a little extra to play for this summer.”

Jackson wanted the players to get their rings before he was presented with his.

“It felt good,” Jackson said. “It was nice to be last, it was nice to see the kids reactions, and see them all back together.”

“The ring ceremony never gets old,” said Creedon, who has also had them as the owner of the Bravehearts. “Winning a championship never gets old. It’s always a special thing. And it’s a nice crowning achievement at the end of a long summer. A lot of hard work by a lot of folks went into it.”

“It’s a special moment,” Jackson said, “That I’ll have forever.”

PROTOCOLS MAY CHANGE

With the lifting of the mask ordinance in Nashua, what does that mean for Holman Stadium?

Cook said he will find out officially whether fans need to continue to wear masks when not in their seats. One thing he does know is that for now, capacity will remain 50 percent for seating. Some 825 fans took in Thursday night’s season opener.

“As of right now, we’re still at 50 percent,” Cook said. “I’m sure that’s something we could sit down with (city officials) and talk to see what could change it. But we’re just happy with 50 percent right now.”

Cook kept the mask rule in place for last night’s game because the ordinance was lifted by the city late in the day Thursday. Because Holman is a city facility, he’s not sure if the restrictions are still in place.

“I just need to make sure we’re not considered a city ‘building’,” he said. “I would imagine we’re not, since we’re outdoors and everything, but I’m hoping to have an answer on that as soon as possible.”

Cook is hoping that the team can at least say those fully vaccinated no longer have to wear them. “Then it becomes the honor policy,” he said.

Stay tuned.

WEEKEND SLATE

The Silver Knights hope to get their first win of the season tonight at the Westfield Starfires, weather permitting, at 6:30. Then they head to Brockton Saturday for a 6 p.m. game vs. the Rox, part of a home-and-home as the Rox come to Holman on Sunday for a 3 p.m. tilt.

It’s 11 games in 11 days, as, while Mondays are normally off, the Knights are at Worcester on Memorial Day and then home for six straight games next week through Sunday, June 6.