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On the ice with the Canucks

Meeting Sami Salo and Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks was no big deal for Oak Bay’s Ben White.
Detroit Red Wings v Vancouver Canucks
Nine-year-old Ben White stands beside Vancouver Canucks Sami Salo during the national anthem before the Canucks faced the Detroit Red Wings at Rogers Arena last December.

Meeting Sami Salo and Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks was no big deal for Oak Bay’s Ben White.

As part of the Canucks’ Every Kid’s Dream program, Ben was given the opportunity to join his favourite hockey team on the ice during a pre-skate and the singing of the national anthem.

Dressed in his bright blue Victoria Racquet Club Kings hockey gear, Ben led the Canucks onto the ice in a home game against Detroit in late December.

“It was really fun,” said nine-year-old Ben, who recently received pictures from the Canucks and shared them with the Oak Bay News.

While Ben didn’t get to talk to his favourite player, Ryan Kesler, he said he liked meeting and standing next to Salo and Sedin.

“It’s just really cool how I could meet the players up close,” Ben said, noting he wasn’t at all scared or nervous.

Ben’s father, Jeremie White, said the youngster was calm and collected throughout the experience.

“I didn’t want to say anything to him before but afterwards, I was like, ‘there are 18,000 people watching, weren’t you nervous to trip?’”

Even while waiting in the tunnel to step onto the ice and lead the team out, Ben was focused on not missing the cue, White said.

After the skate, Ben said he felt really good and realized how lucky he was to have the opportunity.

“(Ben) seems to realize a little bit that it was special,” White said.