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I've been casually viewing this site for awhile but until today I never felt the need to share my opinion. Today, however, was different. My brother was diagnosed with leukemia while playing junior hockey in Saskatchewan earlier this year and he had a bone marrow transplant a couple months ago in Calgary (he's had to live there for the last several months due to the lack of facilities in Sask.). We have been die-hard Red Wings fans since we were really young and it's been a dream of ours to someday watch a game at the Joe but today he experienced the next best thing. Mike Babcock gave him a call this morning and invited him to the Wings practice in Calgary and invited him to meet all of the Wings. Every single Red Wing took the time to not only introduce themselves but genuinely get to know him. He was encouraged by Dats and Zets to stick around for practice prep and to come back after practice for some autographs. Ken Holland offered him tickets for tomorrow's game and Babs invited him back tomorrow to once again hang out with the Wings after their morning skate. For a kid who's been through a lot in recent months, he was on cloud nine today. The Wings have always been my favorite team but today they turned it up a notch. I was absolutely blown away by everything today and I think it's safe to say we all cheer for one of the classiest organizations in the NHL .

Solid win by the boys last night... Great way to cap off two days I'm sure my family will never forget.

So true. It really comes to fruition in times like these. My parents up and moved to Calgary to be with my brother for these last few months. I mean I fly out there as often as I can but I can't even imagine the strain it's put on my parents since my brother got sick. I guess my dad has probably needed a day like yesterday as much as anyone

Thanks to everyone for the kind words and the warm reception to this site. My brother told me he read some of your comments and was really moved by it. Positivity is key in a situation like this and it is awesome to see so many Wings fans unite.

Yeap. He was just as excited as my brother. He's been a fan of the Wings since he was about five years old. Quite an experience for both of them I'd say.

To be honest I'm not exactly sure on the details of how Babcock found out. He hasn't sent me any of the pictures he took but I snagged this one off his Facebook profile page:

It's been a tough year for him that's for sure. The toughest thing about this, I think, is that he has a year of junior hockey eligibility left and he was in peak physical condition when that bombshell was dropped on him. It's sad because I know all he wants to be doing is getting on the ice and having fun with his buddies but you can see it in his eyes that he knows what he has to do to prevail over this thing. The Wings provided much-needed relief from his everyday struggle and gave him a day where he could just enjoy the experience and soak up everything around him. It was pretty amazing. From a selfish standpoint, I'm disappointed I couldn't be there to meet the team. I'm a little jealous