Tuesday was special for more than just Alex Ovechkin.
The 33-year-old joined the NHL’s exclusive 1,200 point club after recording an assist on defenceman Jon Carlson’s third period goal. But the most significant part of the day took place ahead of the game, when Ovi took the time to meet a special fan. Layne Matechuk, one of the 13 Humboldt Broncos bus crash survivors from last April, took a trip down with his family down to Pittsburgh to watch his favourite player Sidney Crosby in action. Ovi didn’t seem to mind that Layne’s favoruite player is his friendly rival because he was more than willing to take a picture with the Matechuk family.
A seriously, seriously huge beauty.
Layne suffered severe trauma from the crash, which left him in a deep coma for a month. After finally waking up he was barely able to communicate or walk, but after extensive rehab, he looks to be getting his life back on track. At least that’s what we were able to take away from this video of him doing his thing again on the ice.
Today, the 19-year-old is continuing his rehab with Zone physio therapist John Fouhse, who he’s working extensively with on his strength and balance. Fouhse told Saskatoon Starphonix the following on his progress:
“We’ve really focused a lot on his strength lately,” Fouhse told Darren Zary, of the Saskatoon Starphoenix. “We started with one- or two-pound dumbbells and now Layne deadlifts up to 120 pounds. He’s doing pull-ups and pushups, agility-ladder stuff. It’s really impressive how much he’s changed over a short period of time.”
And of course, Matechuk eventually got to meet his hero, the one, the only, ‘Sid the Kid’. Talk about a memorable day.
All class from two of the game’s best.
(H/T RMNB)
