Young Leafs fan meets his 2 'heroes' after his sign at Tampa Bay game goes viral

A young Toronto Maple Leafs fan meets his two favourite players after travelling down to Tampa Bay. (Courtesy of Richard Hodgkinson)

An eight-year-old boy from Paris, Ont. got to meet his two “heroes” from the Toronto Maple Leafs for his birthday after a picture of him and his sign went viral online.

Richard Hodgkinson took his son Blake on a family vacation to Tampa Bay in celebration of his birthday, which included going to a Leafs’ game – his second ever.

Hodgkinson told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday that he and his family have been long-time fans of the Toronto franchise.

“We’ve all been Leafs’ fans forever. Certainly, since he was born, he’s always watched the Leafs,” Hodgkinson said.

“When he really started to understand what it was, you know, obviously [Mitch] Marner and [Auston] Matthews are the two big names for Toronto and quickly became his favourites.”

Ahead of the game, Hodgkinson said Blake wanted to make a sign for it – long before knowing his two favourite players weren’t playing Tuesday night’s game against the Lightning.

“I came from Toronto to see my heroes,” the front of the sign read, with Marner’s and Matthews’ jersey numbers printed.

“On the back, I believe it said, ‘Hey Auston, It’s my birthday. Can I have a stick?’ Or something to that effect,” Hodgkinson recalled.

“He was disappointed for sure when he found out that they weren’t playing, but he was still really excited to watch anyway.”

At the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs game on April 11. (Richard Hodgkinson)

Long-time TSN hockey commentator, Gord Miller, shared a photo of Blake with his sign on Twitter, which has been viewed over 700,000 times and has over 1,250 likes. An hour later, he followed up, noting the Leafs were working to find “this young fan.”

“Blake and I were in the concession getting snacks after the period, and Steve Keogh from the Leafs came and recognized Blake,” Hodgkinson said. “Then he gave him a hat and a puck and said, ‘Would you like to meet Auston and Mitch after the game?’ And Blake, of course, was grinning through the roof.”

After the game was over – which the Leafs won 4-3 – Blake got to head down and meet his “heroes” nearby the locker room.

In the video shared by the franchise on social media, the two players shook Blake’s hand, asked how everyone was doing, before looking at Blake’s handiwork with the sign he made.

“Well, we got some Sharpies. Do you want us to sign this for you?” Marner could be heard asking in the video.

Marner and Matthews not only signed Blake’s poster, but also signed a hockey stick, puck, hat, and his Marner t-shirt.

“He slept with the stick last night,” Hodgkinson said.

“He was speechless, and to a large extent, he still is … He’s been watching the video that was circulated about it. I don’t think yesterday he truly understood what was happening, and it’s starting to sink in on him this morning.”

Hodgkinson said Blake is an avid hockey player who hopes to one day make an AAA Hockey team – and after, the NHL.

“He loves to score goals, and he often tries to mimic Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.”