New Jersey Devils center, Vernon Fiddler returned to Dallas,
on Tuesday, as his new team was beginning their four-game western road trip
against his former team.
At the morning skate, Fiddler caught up with one young fan
that had been saving up her quarters to attend Tuesday night’s game.
Nine-year-old, Chloe Brown had been saving all the quarters she had received
for doing her chores each day since, July 1. The reason for doing so, was so
that she could buy a ticket to the game between the Stars and the Devils at the
American Airlines Center.
Tuesday night’s game was the only time that Fiddler, who is
Brown’s favorite player, would be playing in Dallas this season. Her mother,
Rhonda Brown said, “She has been saving
for this, since he signed in New Jersey. She even saved enough to buy a puck at
the team store.”
Brown and Fiddler found a special bond dating back to his
time with the Stars. The center, along with his wife, Chrissy, began Fidd’s Kids.
The group worked with the Make a Wish Foundation of North Texas to donate 12
tickets to every home game to local children.
Brown attended her first hockey game through Fidd’s Kids,
and has become a hockey fanatic ever since. When school is not in session, she
attends the Stars practices in Frisco, Texas. Prior to a game, last season,
Fiddler flipped a puck over the glass in the direction of Chloe.
The emotional moment was caught on the jumbotron and only
scratched the surface of the impact that Fiddler has had on her.
When Brown was just 15 months, she was diagnosed with Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a form of cancer that attacks the white blood cells.
She completed her chemotherapy and went into remission by the time she was
two-years-old.
At the age of three, the cancer returned and she underwent a
different form of chemotherapy, which she completed on September 8. She is once
again in remission. Fiddler said, “She is
a girl that has inspired a lot of people in Dallas. She has battled a lot in
her young life, more than she ever should.”
She is probably Fiddler’s biggest fan. Every morning she makes
sure that she not only checks out the scores from the Stars, she also checks to
see how Fiddler and the Devils are doing as well. She has even decorated her room
with hockey related items of the Stars and Fiddler.
Before the Devils morning skate on Tuesday, Fiddler
presented Chloe with her very own Devils jersey, with his number. He promised
her that he would bring her one after he signed in New Jersey.
Rhonda Brown added, “The
day he went to the Devils, we had a meltdown in the house, we were done for the
day. But he FaceTimed her and said he would get her a new jersey. She was going
to save up for the jersey, but then she started saving to go to the game.”
With his family still residing in the Dallas area,
delivering the jersey was pretty much a special feeling for him to do it as he
made his return.
He said, “She is a
special fan of mine. That is the plan, to bring her the jersey and get her
cheering for the Devils. She is a great little kid and it is always nice to see
her smiling face.”
Midway through the opening period of the game on Tuesday
night, the Stars welcomed Fiddler back with a video tribute and standing ovation
from the crowd, many of which still adorned his jersey.
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