2025 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t even feel real, I don\u2019t even feel like I\u2019m really here,\u201d Meloy said Thursday. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m floating. I\u2019ve watched these guys play hockey on TVs at home, I watch (highlights) during lunch in school and it\u2019s crazy that I\u2019m here with them and they know me now. I feel so grateful and so honored that I get to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meloy has used hockey as a way to stay connected to her father, who died from a heart attack in 2018. He played hockey growing up, and the sport has been passed down to the next generation of the family.<\/p>\n
Meloy\u2019s brother took her to see the Hawks in person for the first time on Dec. 19, 2023, a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche. She\u2019s a competitive figure skater, so she\u2019s used to the rink.<\/p>\n
The day at the United Center was much different: pads, sticks, pucks flying everywhere and skates that aren\u2019t exactly meant for the performance spins she\u2019s used to completing. Her initial thoughts about hockey were, well, she was a little confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know what was going on at all,\u201d Meloy said. \u201cI was like, it\u2019s a puck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her brother bought her a white Bedard sweater at the game. \u201cWho\u2019s this guy?\u201d was her first thought.\u00a0After doing her research, Bedard quickly became her favorite Hawks player.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was first walking around the United Center (and) I saw this face (everywhere) when we were walking.\u201d Meloy said. \u201cI started watching his videos and I was like, he\u2019s pretty great,\u201d<\/p>\n
The energy at the United Center that night was \u201celectric,\u201d Meloy said. The Hawks not only won, but they won the Meloys over.<\/p>\n
New Year\u2019s Day 2026 was the cherry on top.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s always going to be a fan, and I am (as well),\u201d said Kristy Meloy, Aubrey\u2019s mom. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be reliving this for many months ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aubrey collected the puck in front of Bedard, Bertuzzi and the other Hawks to begin her shootout attempt. It was a graceful skate for her, even with all the bulky pads and equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so used to spinning around and doing jumps and all that and I\u2019m in this heavy gear,\u201d Meloy said. \u201cOnce I really got used to it, I was like, oh, OK, this isn\u2019t that bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
She glided in her figure skates, sent a shot past S\u00f6derblom and scored the goal. Hawks players celebrated with stick taps for the Joliet kid.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone asked me if they think figure skating harder than hockey,\u201d Meloy said. \u201cNow that I\u2019m here, I think hockey is a lot harder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Up next was 16-year-old John \u201cJT\u201d Byers, of Keller, Texas. He was born with cystic fibrosis, a condition that once made playing hockey nearly impossible.<\/p>\n
After treatment, he now plays for the Dallas Penguins 16U minor team. He attempted a behind-the-back shot on his shootout attempt, so he\u2019s not lacking for confidence in his game.<\/p>\n
\u201c(I\u2019ve been practicing that) for about a year and a half, just messing around with it,\u201d Byers said. \u201cI was going for flashy. Didn\u2019t go the safe route. It didn\u2019t turn out well for me, but I\u2019m out here for the fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s from Texas but made it abundantly clear that he\u2019s no Stars fan. He dubbed Hockey Hall of Famer Mari\u00e1n Hossa as his favorite Hawks player.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere I started, I was originally a forward, I was very defensive because that\u2019s who I am more as a player and (Hossa) matched my game,\u201d Byers said. \u201cI saw him win the Cups, he\u2019s just an amazing player, best two-way player to ever do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to his play, Byers volunteers as a referee and mentor to younger players. He\u2019s grateful to play hockey and wants to give that opportunity to others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell them how amazing it is and I hope that they can find the love for it the same way I do,\u201d Byers said. \u201cThe game truly means a lot to me, and I really love being able to play it.<\/p>\n
After overcoming his medical challenges to play the sport, he hopes his story can help children with that same dream.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope it shows kids that no matter what challenges God sets for you in your life that you can overcome them and that you can pursue goals,\u201d Byers said. \u201cEven if it\u2019s harder than other people, it\u2019s about your mindset, not about your physical capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The kids enjoyed their dream day with the Hawks. The team enjoyed the fans\u2019 company just as much.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were awesome, they had great perspective,\u201d Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. \u201cI was evaluating their shootout moves in case we need to improve our shootout record.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added team captain Nick Foligno: \u201cYou ring (the new year) in the right way with with a purposeful day like today, where these kids are going through something way worse than we\u2019ll ever experience and be able to bring joy. Reminds us that there\u2019s more to life and we obviously take (hockey) very seriously, but it is a game at the end of the day and these kids are battling real-life things.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago Blackhawks wanted to start 2026 in a positive way, preferably with a home victory over the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5115],"tags":[521,37,96,5263,508,800,5,3140,49564,4,5851],"class_list":{"0":"post-385795","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-blackhawks","8":"tag-blackhawks","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","11":"tag-chicagoblackhawks","12":"tag-connor-bedard","13":"tag-frank-nazar","14":"tag-hockey","15":"tag-jeff-blashill","16":"tag-make-a-wish-illinois","17":"tag-nhl","18":"tag-nick-foligno"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115822992084091526","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}