After 10 years, this NHL player finally came through for his #1 fan — and then they faced off on the ice
When we’re kids, we all have idols in sports or movies that we look up to. For NHL player Miles Wood, his childhood idol was NHL star Alex Ovechkin.
These days, 21-year-old NHL rookie has made it big in the NHL himself, but 10 years ago, all Wood wanted was Ovechkin’s autograph. He even sent him a later with a hockey card he hoped the star would be able to sign and send back.
And in that letter, Wood warned Ovechkin what would happen if he didn’t receive the signed card in the self-addressed envelope.
Miles’ father, former NHL player Randy Wood, revealed the story in an interview shared on the New Jersey Devils’ Facebook page.
“He said, ‘If you don’t sign this and send it back to me, when I make it to the NHL I’m going to give you a big body-check."
As you might’ve guessed, Ovechkin never did sign and return that card.
Fast forward 10 years later, Miles was about to get the chance to make good on his harmless threat. Wood’s team, New Jersey Devils, were facing off against the Capitals, Ovechkin’s team, on December 29th.
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/814474721727315970
Of course, the adorable story Miles’ father told meant everyone waited to see what would happen when he faced his childhood idol. Would he really check him and make good on that warning?
.@NJDevils We good now, @MilesWood28? @NHL @ovi8 pic.twitter.com/Tgubvz630u
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 29, 2016
Being the smart man he seems to be, Ovechkin got word of the story and decided to get ahead of the potential threat. Before the game, he sent over an autographed photo to Miles asking the rookie to “take it easy tonight.”
The two eventually met up after the game and you can tell that there was so much childhood excitement oozing out of Miles when he came face-to-face with Ovechkin.
It’s awesome to see these two professional NHL players having a great sense of humor and it proves that even if you “make it” you can still appreciate those that came before you.
Plus, how cute is it that Miles’s childhood dream finally came true? He got the autograph — and a spot on the team.
