Yesterday’s hockey game was one for the history books as Team Canada beat Russian 4-3 in the gold medal final at the World Junior Hockey Championship in the Czech Republic! Team Captain Barrett Hayton scored the tying goal before Akil Thomas got the game-winner. Hayton was wearing a Canadian flag after the win and was still wearing it for the team photo on the ice. He got the flag from some Canadian fans in the crowd.

But not just any fans. The flag belongs to my nephew, Anthony! And what a payoff for him! My sister, Shawna, my brother-in-law, Tony, and Anthony spent much of 2019 arranging various fundraisers in and around their hometown of Port Colborne, Ont., to send them to a hockey tournament in the Czech Republic. Timing is everything. Their tournament coincided with the World Juniors! Not only did they have tickets for the game, their seats were behind the Team Canada bench! It resulted in Tony getting recognized on TV during the game as friends and relatives watched back home.

After the win, Barrett saw the flag and my relatives gladly handed it over as Hayton then proceeded to wear it while skating around the rink! After the festivities, Hayton returned the flag but not before taking my brother-in-law’s phone and snapping a selfie with him and my nephew! As Tony shared on social media, “Pretty Cool when Barrett Hayton takes your Flag and comes back for your phone and does a Selfie with You…Go Canada Go!!!!”

And the story just gets better! Earlier today, while flying out of Vienna, my relatives ran into members of the team at the airport and got some pretty rad pics, including a few of my nephew getting the flag autographed!

    

Congratulations to Team Canada for an incredible win and a great come-from-behind story that now becomes part of Canada’s hockey lore. Special congratulations to Barrett Hayton and thanks so much for making some Canadian fans, namely my sister and brother-in-law and especially my nephew, Anthony, a part of the celebrations! They’ll never forget it!