A young goalie from Saint-Georges en Beauce, Kaleb Patry, experienced an unforgettable moment on Thursday evening when his idol, Samuel Montembeault, handed him his stick at the end of the warm-up session preceding the game against the Philadelphia Flyers .
The sequence captured on video by his mother, Daphnée Rodrigue (see above), has circulated widely on the web. We see young Kaleb, sign in hand, on which he mentioned to the Habs goalkeeper that he was his idol, waiting for him on the other side of the bay window, near the Canadian bench.
Leaving the ice rink, the Quebec goalie did not hesitate when he saw the poster, and handed him his stick, which the young fan accepted before bursting into tears.
“Everyone was crying around! Kaleb was really happy,” said his mother when contacted by THE NewspaperFriday morning.
The goalkeeper who plays for the ABE 2 Regroupment in Saint-Georges, in the M11 (atom) AA class, was still on cloud nine.
“I’ve wanted it for a long time. I have a lot of admiration for him. I had never been happy with that!” he said.
Photo provided by Daphnée Rodrigue
A precious moment
A “complete fan” of Samuel Montembeault, Kaleb Patry had taken great measures to meet his hero. With his family, they had waited outside the Bell Centre, near the entrance to the underground parking lot reserved for players, a few hours before the game.
When he arrived at the amphitheater, Montembeault did not stop due to the large number of supporters gathered around, but he saw Kaleb’s sign.
Then, they had another contact during the warm-up period.
“I was waving to him during and he answered me,” says the young goalie to whom Montembeault had already sent a puck, during another match he had attended.
His reaction when the CH goalie handed him his stick reminded him of one thing: NHL players can have an immense impact on young people through gestures that may seem banal.
“Samuel really has a great attitude and Kaleb really tries to follow his example,” says his mother.
Moreover, the young goalkeeper even “stole” one of his pre-match rituals from Montembeault.
“I noticed he was dribbling with the puck during the warm-up and I’m doing it now. It helps me.”
Kaleb now promises to hang his stick in his room, with the puck he had already received.
Beware of anyone who wants to approach it!
His brother too
It wasn’t just for Kaleb that Thursday evening was special. His youngest brother, Alec, 9 years old, also came out with the stick of his favorite player, Juraj Slafkovsky!
Photo provided by Daphnée Rodrigue
There is no doubt that these few days on Montreal soil will remain engraved in their minds because, in addition, Kaleb and Alec’s teams have reserved the Bell Center to play a friendly match on Friday afternoon.