Nine-year-old Caiden Chambers was hoping to come away from his first NHL game with a puck, but got something even better: an invite onto the Carolina Hurricanes' bus.
Caiden, his father Curtis Chambers, and grandfather Dave Lawrence drove 12 hours from Nova Scotia to Montreal on Thursday to watch the Hurricanes play the Canadiens, according to Pat Pickens of NHL.com. Curtis is a Canadiens fan, and Caiden was too until he started playing for the Atom "C" Hurricanes in the fall.
@NHLCanes Ready for warm-up! pic.twitter.com/LOaFoyZXAC
— Curtis Chambers (@C_Chambers24) March 23, 2017
Hurricanes forward Lee Stempniak noticed Chambers' sign during warmups, and tossed him a puck.
Thank-you to @StempniakLee and @NHLCanes for making my son's 1st NHL game so memorable! #newfavoriteplayer pic.twitter.com/G46spWTTwH
— Curtis Chambers (@C_Chambers24) March 23, 2017
After the game, which the Hurricanes won 4-1, Caiden waited with his family outside the arena in the hopes of getting someone to autograph his puck. That's when head coach Bill Peters invited them to join the team on the bus.
"We couldn't believe it," Curtis said. "I think we all tripped over our jaws walking in."
Caiden wanted a puck at his first @NHL game. Instead, he met the team!
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) March 24, 2017
Coach Peters invited him on the #Canes bus after tonight's win. pic.twitter.com/P9Z0jnHz7k
It's going to be hard to top that experience.
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