Every kid's dream: Aidan is a Canuck

We are all Canucks.

Last night, my son Aidan lived that in a very special way. He was selected to join the Vancouver Canucks for the pre-game skate and the national anthems for one of the biggest games in Canucks history: game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Chicago Blackhawks.

This is his story …

Getting ready to leave
We pack up Aidan’s gear and stick in the car and head out to downtown Vancouver:

We arrive at Roger’s Arena in Vancouver

It’s a party in Vancouver, but we don’t like dark birds of prey

We chill for a bit at Blenz with a cup of hot chocolate

And then Aidan gets his face painted at the CBC’s offices

We get a pic with Peter Puck at the CBC

We go in to the Canuck’s offices – gate 16

Aidan chills by playing some hockey at gate 16 and hits me with a “puck”

In the hall of heroes

We go down to ice level at Rogers Arena – it’s the calm before the storm

Aidan makes a new friend – a son of one of the Canucks’ coaches:

The Canucks come out for the pre-game skate – Burrows flips a puck over the glass for Aidan

The pre-game action heats up:

Lu makes some sick saves:

Aidan is all eyes

Here’s the puck that Alexandre Burrows flicked over the glass to Aidan

Time to get suited up for the pre-game skate and national anthem

Backstage at Rogers Arena – Aidan gets final instructions

We get a pic taken by the Canucks’ logo

Aidan skates out with Lu and the rest of the Vancouver Canucks

Aidan with the starting line-up for the national anthems

The whole crowd joins in singing the Canadian national anthem

Afterwards, Aidan changes out of his hockey gear and we head to our seats

The crowd goes nuts with our Roger Neilson towels

The game is unbelievably awesome – one of the best in Canucks’ history

We check out the merch during the second intermission

Canpages (my company) shows on the scoreboard at center ice

The Canucks win in overtime and Rogers Arena ERUPTS

The shake of shame for the Blackhawks, led by Jonathan Toews

A friendly fellow fan takes a shot of the historic game 7 overtime winning moment

The celebration continues outdoors

Some random guy puts Aidan on his shoulders as we walk down West Georgia

5 minutes after getting in the car … one tired Canuck

. . .
. . .

We had a wonderful time. Thanks Canucks for a great opportunity and a great game! Thanks Vancouver for such a fun and exciting and safe celebration after the game!

Here’s to the next round: Nashville here we come.