Young hockey fan meets Auston Matthews & Mitch Marner

By Casandra Turnbull

While his teammates were accepting year-end awards at the Paris Minor Hockey banquet, Blake Hodgkinson was a little busy watching his favourite NHL team, live in action, which ended with an impromptu visit with his two favourite players!

The eight-year-old Paris boy received the thrill of a lifetime on Tuesday night while at the Lightning versus Maple Leafs game in Tampa Bay. What started out as a simple sign to get their attention, ended up in a face-to-face meeting with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

Back the story up a bit, Blake was on vacation with his family, visiting his grandparents in Florida. When the local family realized the Leafs would be in town at the same time for a game, they figured they would surprise Blake with tickets to the game since his birthday was justApril 9th .

Everyone in the family is a huge hockey fan, so the idea was a no brainer. Blake, his uncle, grandpa and his dad, Richard Hodgkinson, made it a boys’ night out, and boy was it one to remember!

In preparation for the game, Blake spent some time deciding just what he wanted to put on his poster Once it was decided, he wrote on one side: “I came from Toronto to see my heroes 34 16” and on the flip side: “Hey Auston, can I please have a stick it’s my birthday! 34.”

Matthews and Marner are his favourite players because “they are the best players on the Leafs and the Leafs are my favourite team,” said Blake “They score a lot of goals,” shared the insightful young fan.

“Before they left for the game that night, I took a picture of Blake holding the sign and posted it on my Instagram story,” said Trish Benne, Blake’s mother. “While I was out for dinner, I got a couple of messages from old/random friends who sent me screenshots of the tweet from Gord Miller,” said Trish. Long-time TSN hockey commentator Gord Miller shared the photo on his Twitter, which of course went viral rather quickly and sent the Leafs’ organization on the hunt for this young kid from Paris, Ontario.

Trish texted Rich to tell him about the viral tweet and to make the group at the game aware of all the commotion behind the scenes of what they figured was just an ordinary game.

“On intermission, Richard had Blake walked through the concourse with the sign held up.

Soon after they came into the concourse, an employee from the Leafs’organization (Steve Keogh) spotted them and introduced himself,” explained Trish Keogh brought gifts too An autographed hat and puck for Blake, but they had an even bigger surprise. Would he be interested in meeting his favourite players after the game?

Blake, normally a shy kid, got to do what every eightyear-old hockey loving fan wishes to do – meet his favourite players, shake their hands, and get a picture!

“It was so cool to see how comfortable they made him,” said Trish. Blake ended up with signatures on his homemade poster, a hockey stick, puck, hat and a signed Marner t-shirt. It’s a memory of a lifetime, but in case it fades, he’ll have videos to remind him. The Leafs’ organization filmed the interaction, which is also a viral hit now as well. Several of those hits come from Blake who can’t help but rewatch the encounter, repeatedly, said Trish.

“They Face time’d me right after and my eyes filled with tears to see Blake so happy. He was vibrating with excitement,” Trish recalls.

As for Blake, he commented, “I’m so happy. Happy that I got to meet Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Marner is not as tall as I thought he would be,” the Paris boy observed

And no, the excitement hasn’t worn off in the days since the game. His parents report he holds the stick constantly, in amazement at how big it is Now when he mimics Marner and Matthews, as he often does when he plays, he’ll have an authentic piece of equipment to make it feel more real.

“It was a surreal experience for sure and the Leafs’ organization was incredible,” noted Richard.

“Especially Steve Keogh who tracked Blake down in the concourse between the second and third period A world class organization for sure! We are just so grateful that Blake got this once in a lifetime opportunity”

It might have been hard to focus on the outcome of the game but lost in all the excitement was a 4-3 Maple Leafs win. Once the family returns to Paris, they will settle in to watch the playoffs like millions of other Toronto fans, but they’ll have this special memory to add to the excitement of playoff hockey.

There is a video the team's Twitter post where you can watch Blake as he meets his hockey heroes at Tuesday’s Maple Leafs versus Tampa Lightning game. The Leafs won but the real excitement was the eight-year-old’s behind-the-scenes meet-and-greet with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. The excitement all started with a homemade sign!