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
BREAKING House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
BREAKING Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
Widespread theft costing Canada's retail industry dearly: experts
The Retail Council of Canada wants to put a stop to widespread theft within the retail industry, and industry leaders are meeting this week to find solutions.
Former South Dakota mayor charged with triple homicide
Three people were shot to death in a small South Dakota town, and a former law officer who once served as the town's mayor is charged in the killings.