Benoit Savard has rooted ardently for the Blackhawks for the majority of his life, and Friday afternoon, he got the chance to meet and skate with his heroes at Fifth Third Arena.
“It’s the best day of [his] life,” Savard’s brother Emmanuel said, speaking as his younger brother’s translator (Savard is from Levis, Qebec, and his first language is French). Savard, 12, was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia when he was nine years old, and said he often watched the Hawks as a means to ‘turn his mind off and just think about hockey’ when he was in the hospital.
The Blackhawks showed out to make Savard’s day, too. When he took the ice, Savard was joined by Hawks skaters including but not limited to Dylan Strome, Drake Caggiula, Olli Matta, Corey Crawford, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
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Check out some pictures from Savard’s visit:
Though Savard was effusive in his appreciation for the Blackhawks players for making time for him, he didn’t look star-struck on the ice.
“In between our shifts I heard the guys yelling at the other end of the rink and I saw him taking one-timers underneath the bar, so I was pretty impressed,” Toews said after practice.
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Savard wore a custom No. 88 jersey, an homage to his oldest idol, Kane.
"Not impressed with the number he’s got on his jersey, though," Toews joked.
Savard later got the chance to meet privately with Kane, who signed a Blackhawks hat and trading cards that he had brought from home.
“It brings a little joy, brings a little fun to the rink,” Kane said. “He was fun to be out there with… He was shooting the puck pretty good, seems like a pretty good skater, doing some pretty good edgework out there, so he might have a bright future.”
“It’s a nice day. I had fun with the Chicago Blackhawks,” Savard said to cap off the day.
Savard will drop the puck Sunday for the Blackhawks' matchup with the Kings as a part of Chicago Hockey Fights Cancer Night.
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