Habs goalie Carey Price chokes up after emotional meeting with B.C. boy

TORONTO – Trent Leon, a soft spoken boy from Anahim Lake, B.C got the chance of a lifetime to meet hometown hero Montreal goaltender Carey Price.

Trent is featured in a heart-warming video posted to YouTube as part of the Breakfast Club of Canada program in partnership with the Air Canada Foundation.

Price launched two breakfast club programs at local schools in this tiny community of 1,500, located 850 kilometres north of Vancouver. Trent was chosen as a representative of Anahim Lake Elementary School and flown business-class to Montreal where he met Price personally.

READ MORE: Young Habs fan in Carey Price selfie shares heartwarming letter

In the video, the young boy is in awe as he travels from the small snowy community to the busy city of Montreal.

“It’s kind of hard to describe,” Trent tells his grandmother from his hotel room as he stares out over the sea of skyscrapers.

The following day Trent gets to meet his idol in the Canadiens dressing room where he receives a Habs jersey and gets the chance to skate with the goaltender and even fire a few pucks.

The video ends with Trent getting his chance to speak up when he surprises the Habs superstar with a hand written cards from the children of Anahim Lake school. The cards containing messages of thanks and well wishes leave Price teary eyed as he turns to Trent and says, “Thanks buddy, that means a lot to me.”

Advertisers turn to long-form storytelling

The video of a boy meeting his hockey hero will undoubtedly leave viewers misty eyed and follows the growing trend of brands turning to long-form storytelling as they struggle to connect with audiences in a crowded marketplace, says one industry expert.

“It all begins with the very simple fact that brands are starving for attention,” said Tony Chapman, a marketing expert with tonychapmanreactions.com. “They are starving for attention because there is so much content and it is very difficult get a captive and engaged audience.”

The story of the young First Nations boy from B.C meeting Price runs for more than six minutes and is tearing up YouTube, receiving more than 250,000 views since being posted last Friday. W

Whether it’s WestJet’s latest “Christmas Miracle” video or Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial “Puppy Love,” featuring a friendship between a Clydesdale and a puppy, advertisers are turning to long-form storytelling.

“They are taking the classic story arc of something that begins with a struggle and ends with a happy ending,” he said. “And weave the brand in wherever possible.”