TORONTO — It was a good season for Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Ray Emery, who gave up the fewest goals in the league and made NHL history by starting with 12 consecutive wins.
The Hamilton, Ont. native is currently between the pipes as the Blackhawks challenge the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Cheering him on is his girlfriend of three years, Canadian pop star Keshia Chanté.
Appearing on Global’s The Morning Show, the 24-year-old singer said she is thrilled to see Emery doing so well considering the obstacles he’s overcome.
“When we met three years ago he just had surgery for avascular necrosis,” Chanté recalled. The disease involves an interruption of blood supply that causes bone tissue to die.
“They caught it just before his hips collapsed,” she said.
Emery was told he might not play hockey again — or even walk properly.
“It was a really trying time,” admitted Chanté. “To see him go from really down on himself to deciding, ‘You know what? Being a good hockey player is 99 per cent your mentality and one per cent your body capability’ … it honestly gets me really emotional.”
Chanté, currently a judge on the YTV reality series The Next Star, has another reason to gush over Emery.
“He is so cute!”
Comments