As the Washington Capitals filed off the ice at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary last week, one lucky fan was waiting in the back ready to congratulate the players on their win.
Little did he know, he’d be getting a surprise souvenir from the game to take home and cherish: a hockey stick from Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin.
Nine-year-old Aydin Ali — who often uses a wheelchair — is a huge Capitals fan, something his mother, Aneela Ali, said he adopted all on his own. Some of the family are Flames fans and Aydin’s father cheers for the Edmonton Oilers.
Aneela said Aydin had been to a number of Flames games but never got to see them face off against his favourite players. His parents got him a ticket for Saturday’s game and were able to arrange for him to greet the players in the locker-room area.
In a video posted to Twitter that night, the young fan is seen giving the players high fives as they head to the dressing room.
In the video, Ovechkin can be seen giving the boy his high-five before stopping for a second and giving him an even better gift — the hockey stick he played with as the team beat the Flames.
“He wanted to sleep with the stick that night.”
Aydin was diagnosed with a neuroblastoma on his back when he was seven months old. Following aggressive chemotherapy and radiation, he is now living cancer-free, however, he lost a lot of the movement in his legs during the time he was sick. He has about 85 to 90 per cent of his leg function back and uses ankle-foot orthotics to walk and a wheelchair for long distances.
“This kid has been through so much in life,” Aneela said. “For him to get this moment, the stick, just meant the world. We’re just in awe.
“For me, as a parent, he just deserves the best.”
Along with the hockey stick, most of the Capitals’ players also signed Aydin’s jersey, which Aneela said they’ve already framed to put on the wall of his bedroom. The stick will eventually be mounted on his wall too.
His mother said Aydin loves hockey and is very knowledgeable about statistics and history, adding he doesn’t watch cartoons on TV — he watches any hockey he can.
“He knows every player, every number, tons of stats,” Aneela said. “He teaches me.”
The meeting was arranged by the Calgary Flames Foundation and the Washington Capitals organization.