Cam Ward and the Carolina Hurricanes didn’t get the result they wanted on Friday night by losing 3-0 to the New York Islanders, but that didn’t stop the 'Canes goaltender from having one of the most memorable moments in his entire 13-year career.
Prior to puck drop at every home game, the Hurricanes honour a Youth Starter of the Game, giving a young hockey player the chance to stand next to the five starting Hurricanes. But this guest wasn’t just any young hockey player.
7-year-old Nolan Ward, who was born deaf, lined up next to his dad, side by side in the Hurricanes crease in a beautfiul, hear-warming moment.
“It was a moment he and I will always remember,” Ward said Saturday to Chip Alexander of The News & Observer. “I was kind of hoping it would happen before my playing days were over, so it’s nice to check that box off. That was really cool for both of us.”
Following in his father’s footsteps, Nolan is a goaltender in a local youth hockey league, and he even shares the same No. 30 as his father.
In July of 2016, Ward penned an incredibly emotional piece in The Player’s Tribune titled “The Bravest Guy I Know” that detailed the challenges Cam and his wife Cody faced on finding “any technology that could help our child hear us tell him that we loved him.”
Over his tenure in Carolina, Ward won the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same playoff run, played in front of his hometown fans at the 2011 NHL All-Star game, and won a gold medal at the 2007 IIHF World Championship. But if you asked Ward, there’s a good chance that this moment with his son triumphed them all.
(h/t Twitter/ Jon Chase)
