A boy and his goalie hero
Owen Whitehead, who is a goalie with the Under 12 AA Soo Jr. Greyhounds, has long thought of Marc-Andre Fleury as one of his favourite National Hockey League goalies.
And young Mr. Whitehead got to meet his idol in person this weekend. Whitehead and his U12 AA Jr. Greyhound teammates are in Minnesota for a tournament. And not only are they taking in tonight’s NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and the Arizona Coyotes, but they were guests at the morning practice of the Wild and received a tour of the dressing room.
It was then that young Whitehead got to meet Fleury, who is in his second season with the Wild and one of the greatest goalies in NHL history. Now in his 18th NHL season, Fleury was part of three Stanley Cup championship teams with the Pittsburgh Penguins. After 13 years with Pittsburgh, Fleury has since played for the Vegas Knights, Chicago Blackhawks and now Minnesota.
The 38-year old Fleury, who has a reputation as one of the nicest guys in the game, is one of only three goalies in NHL history to have 500 victories. Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy are the others.
Photo: Owen Whitehead of the U12 AA Soo Jr. Greyhounds with his goalie hero, Marc-Andre Fleury of the Minnesota Wild.