The Minnesota Wild picked up a big win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night, but it's not only what they did on the ice that was a cause for celebration, but rather, what they were able to do off the ice.
Perhaps you'll recall a video surfacing about a week ago from the Wild's home game against the Edmonton Oilers. Prior to the game, during warm-ups, a trio of young fans waited along the glass to get the attention of Wild forward, Mats Zuccarello, hoping to get a puck. Mats would oblige, tossing two pucks over the glass. The first puck would find the hands of Emily Wiltzius, who would pass it along to another boy who had been trying to get one for himself. The second would find its way into the hands of the same boy who would return the favor, passing that puck back to the 11-year-old girl, leaving one little boy without a puck of his own.
Emily, in a second act of pure generosity, saw just how much a puck would mean to the young boy beside her and without hesitation, would pass that puck on to the boy, who would demonstrate that his parents have raised him right by looking up to her to say "thank you". The video can be seen below.
This act of kindness would not go unnoticed, as Carly Zucker (wife of Wild forward, Jason Zucker) would reach out on Twitter to try and locate the generous young girl, which proved successful!
The Wild wanted to show Emily how much the team appreciated her generous nature by gifting her with a puck signed by each Minnesota player, but it didn't end there. The team would also invite Wiltzius to the team's game against the Kings on Saturday, honoring her at the game for her pair of selfless acts. What happened after that is something that would really make the night special for Emily. Jason Zucker invited her to come and meet the team, which included her favourite player, Mikko Koivu. The Wild captain even posed for some pictures with the young fan and signed her hat. All that, because she decided to put others first.
"By first glance, they looked young," Wiltzius told the Wild website. "I just wanted to give a puck away before I got a puck."
I'm not crying... you're crying...
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