Young fan who lost his mom gets a huge surprise from Carey Price.

Keep the tissues close by for this one.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Young fan who lost his mom gets a huge surprise from Carey Price.
Tammy Whitehead/Montreal Gazette

When you first hear that young 11 year old hockey fan Anderson Whitehead is a native of Brampton, Ontario you would probably expect to learn that the team that he cheers for is the nearby Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Even if someone told you that the Maple Leafs weren't his team you would likely assume that one of the other nearby teams, Ontario's own Ottawa Senators or even the Detroit Red Wings or Buffalo Sabres, would be the candidate but you would be wrong again. Anderson has room in his heart for just one team and that team is the Montreal Canadiens, thanks in large part to his love of star goaltender Carey Price.

Like many hockey fans his age Anderson has a bedroom covered in posters from his favorite hockey team and as a result Anderson's mother, Laura McKay, wanted nothing more than to provide her child with the opportunity to meet his hero. Unfortunately for Laura she did not live long enough to see her son's dream come true and at the very young age of 44 she was taken far too early from this world, succumbing to a battle with cancer. It was obviously a devastating loss for Anderson and his family and although nothing could ever replace what has been lost thankfully there are good people in the world who go above and beyond for those in need.

Through some word of mouth Graham Rynbend, the Canadiens’ head athletic therapist, heard about Anderson's story and was able to get into contact with the family and have them attend the Habs' morning skate on February 23rd ahead of a match up against the aforementioned Toronto Maple Leafs. What unfolded was a typical morning skate from the Habs, but one that featured a magical moment off the ice that frankly makes everything that happened during that morning skate pales in comparison.

Price, having heard about Anderson's story through Rynbend, came over to where Anderson and his family were sitting in the stands to sign some memorabilia for the young man. Anderson however was overcome by the moment and immediately began to break down in tears, it was then that the magic truly happened. Price once again demonstrated that hockey players are truly some of the greatest athletes in the world in terms of character, immediately removing his gloves and mask and walking over to embrace the young man in a long and very warm hug. 

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Thankfully the entire thing was captured on video by Anderson's aunt, Tammy Whitehead, and the video has now been shared thousands of times on social media. That comes as no surprise given how beautiful of a moment this is, one that likely will have far more value as a memory for Anderson than any of the memorabilia that Price did sign for him will. Perhaps best of all however was the fact that Anderson gave full credit to his late mother for always believing that this moment would one day be a reality for him.

“It was very cool,” Anderson said as per the Montreal Gazette. “It’s the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I always hoped it was going to happen, my mom always said it could happen.”

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