Wild's Walz Surprises Fan Who Had Stick Snatched At Game
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A disappointing moment for a young Minnesota Wild fan was more than made up for Friday morning.
Noel Taylor, 13, of St. Paul, attended the Minnesota-Chicago outdoor alumni game in February.
When the game was over, former Wild player Richard Park tried to give Noel his stick, but an older fan snatched it away.
"He threw it up and I caught it and the guy took it, took it out of my hands. And he took off," Taylor said. "Everybody's yelling, 'Give him the stick! Give him the stick!' I was about to cry. I was pretty mad."
The hockey stick thief never looked back. Taylor was frustrated, at least until Friday morning.
Wes Walz, a member of the alumni team, personally delivered a new and better hockey stick to Taylor.
"I can promise anyone who's listening, whether you are a baseball player, hockey player, or a football player, we're doing this for the kids. So when we go to put a puck in the stands or throw our stick in the stands, it's for the kids," Walz said.
This new and improved stick included autographs from all the players.
"We have one rule with this stick: You're not allowed to be playing street hockey later today," Walz said.
Taylor can live with that, because he already knows what he's going to do with his new souvenir.
"I'm going to hang it up on my wall and keep it there," he said.
Taylor is a center on his hockey team and he said he's hoping to play in the NHL someday. Walz said he actually recognized Taylor as one of the kids who has attended his hockey camp in the past.
"I thought it was beautiful that they thought to replace his stick. It's nice that they cared to keep him happy," Taylor's mother Tara Taylor said.
