It’s not a rare sight to see fans along the glass during warmups holding signs asking players for a puck or stick, with sometimes that being the difference between getting a date to prom or going alone.
On Tuesday, as Columbus forward Nick Foligno was on the ice before a game against the Buffalo Sabres, two kids in the crowd had a very unique sign -- one that had a message the Blue Jackets captain couldn’t ignore.
The sign held by Declan and Maren Flynn read “Hey Nick, your dad gave my dad his stick in 1987. Can we have yours?” and also included a photo of the kids holding a Mike Foligno stick. Nick Foligno helped them out with their request.
Declan and Maren’s father, Sean, told NHL.com his kids are getting into hockey now and figured they’d make a sign and see what happened.
Sean Flynn grew up near Buffalo and got his stick after a Sabres practice over 30 years ago from the elder Foligno, who played parts of 10 NHL seasons with the Sabres.
“I’ve had it for over 30 years,” Flynn said. “I brought the stick out a little while ago, and the kids just kind of came up with ‘hey, what if we made a sign and tried to get Nick’s.’”
Foligno would score in the second period during the 5-4 Blue Jackets defeat, but that didn’t damper the kids’ enthusiasm on the evening.
“They’re Nick Foligno fans for life,” Flynn said.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.