A 12-year-old boy who calls live play-by-play for his blind father at Saskatoon Blades games will have the opportunity to show off his skills on the big ice.
The father and son, Gerry and Wyatt Nelson, received a surprise invite Friday from the St. Louis Blues to catch Tuesday night’s NHL playoff game between the Blues and San Jose Sharks.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong and radio sportscaster Kelly Chase made the phone call, with Chase asking Wyatt if he’d like to join him on air.
“Now that I’m up in the broadcast booth, we’re going to put you on the air and let Wyatt strum a couple of plays up in the booth with us,” said Chase, a former Saskatoon Blades and St. Louis Blues player. “What do you think of that, Wyatt?”
“That’d be pretty cool,” Wyatt responded.
Last week, @NHL introduced us to Wyatt & Gerry. Their moment with the #StanleyCup was just the beginning. #stlblueshttps://t.co/apJnk9518A
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) May 16, 2016
The NHL introduced the father and son to hockey audiences last week.
Gerry lost his eyesight in 1988 due to diabetes. His son, Wyatt, calls the play-by-play at Blades games for him. The league offered the pair an exclusive moment with the Stanley Cup, and captured the meeting on video.
“Is this a gag?” Wyatt asked in the video as he and his father walk into a room with the Stanley Cup. The two were alone with the trophy sitting on a table.
“What’s going on?” his dad replied.
“There’s the Cup,” Wyatt said.
“The Stanley Cup?” Gerry asked.
“Yes!”
Blues general manager Armstrong said the story was inspiring. The team’s phone call with the father and son was also captured on video and shared on the Blues social media pages Monday.
“Kelly showed me the video of you and your son and what hockey means to you guys, and it was very inspirational,” Armstrong said. “We'd like to invite you guys to come on down to St. Louis and enjoy a Stanley Cup playoff game here in the next little while.”
Have a great flight! See you soon, guys. #WeAllBleedBlue #stlblues #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/DaD6wOK12n
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) May 17, 2016
Gerry, as soon as the call was finished, described the invite and the meeting with the Stanley Cup as a miracle, and said how thankful he is for his son.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine something like this would happen in my lifetime,” he said. “You want to talk about miracles and big breaks. I’m a lucky, lucky man.”