NHL players help send B.C. hockey fan to first playoff game
The friendship between Vancouver Island girl Elsie Simard and Colorado Avalanche forward Alex Newhook is making waves on social media.
Newhook, who's currently playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs, used to play junior hockey for the Victoria Grizzlies.
It was in B.C.'s capital where the pair first met.
"I saw her the first time she was there," said Newhook. "Just went down and gave her a little fist bump."
Elsie was born premature, and has spent much of her life in the hospital. But while she was there, she could always count on a visit from Newhook.
According to Elsie's family, the hockey rink would help serve as her equalizer.
"Inside here there are no restrictions. She can be just like anybody else," said her mother, Christie Simard.
Sadly, Elsie and Newhook's friendship took a shift in 2019, when Newhook's junior hockey career ended and Elsie and her mother moved from Victoria to Battleford, Sask.
The pair reunited in March when Elsie's family drove four hours to Edmonton to catch their first NHL game.
The Colorado Avalanche won that game, and Newhook and Elsie got a chance to see each other again. Soon after, word of their friendship took the spotlight.
"My phone blew up," said the girl's mother.
OFF TO THE PLAYOFFS
An online fundraiser was quickly set up, with the purpose of sending Elsie to her first NHL playoff game.
The campaign was a success, and Elsie flew to Denver last week, with other players from the Avalanche pitching in.
"Erik Johnson helped with tickets and accommodation," said Simard.
The team won both its games to move on to the second round of the playoffs, and the Simard family says they were treated like royalty.
But Elsie didn't arrive in Denver empty handed.
She brought the team handmade bars of soap since Newhook is her original "stinky boy."
"We brought stinky hockey boy soap," said Simard.
Elsie's been making a positive impact from her roots in Victoria to Colorado.
"She makes everybody else's world better around her," said Sheryl Williams with the Victoria Grizzlies. "She's a force."
And Newhook agrees.
"She's always been a light in my life," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.