Lincoln Antonenko, 16, met his hero Jake DeBrusk on Saturday before the Canucks game against the Las Vegas Knights
There is no doubt in Lincoln Antonenko’s mind that his Jake DeBrusk stick is going straight to his bedroom wall, and won’t be used in his weekly hockey game at UBC.
“DeBrusk is number 74, he has 20 goals this season and scored the first goal in the game against Las Vegas,” said an exuberant Antonenko, 16, shortly before boarding a helicopter for a Las Vegas Strip tour on Sunday afternoon.
It had been a busy three days for the Delta Secondary School student, who found out on Friday that he had been selected by Air Canada Fan Flight to travel from Vancouver to Las Vegas to watch his Canucks take on the hometown team.
Lincoln’s mom, Larissa, had known about it since last November but decided to keep it secret until Friday morning, when she and her husband, Lance, arrived at the Vancouver International Airport with their son (whose three loves are flying, birds and the Canucks).
Lincoln is a member of the Hockey Education Reaching Out Society’s superHEROS team that plays every Sunday at UBC under the guidance of the UBC Thunderbirds women’s team.
Larissa said it was Lincoln’s coaches who nominated him for the Air Canada program, which selects children from across Canada and flies them to NBA, NHL and Premier Hockey Federation women’s games.
Lincoln, who lives with Autism Spectrum Disorder, has played in the HEROS program for three years.
Larissa said he was recognized by his coaches because he is always the first to arrive, how hard he practises and his loyalty to the Canucks, and in particular this year’s top scorer, Jake DeBrusk.
On Saturday, Lincoln and his parents attended the Canucks team breakfast and got to sit with colour commentator Dave Tomlinson.
The highlight of the day for Lincoln was when he was sitting at the team’s practice and DeBrusk skated up to him to check in. The pair met last November at a HEROS fundraiser and formed a connection.
“He gave me his stick,” said Lincoln. “And then he scored the Canucks only goal in the second period. It put me in a good mood.”