The season has yet to start, but Blackhawks fever was in full bloom Thursday (Oct. 16) at St. Louise de Marillac School in LaGrange Park.
Students had waited five long months for a visit from forward Patrick Sharp, their prize in winning a contest for donating the most items to Goodwill last spring.
St. Louise had gathered 70,000 items to win the contest for the second time in three years, it was announced in May. But Sharp and his teammates were a little busy at the time, in the midst of a playoff run ultimately cut short by the Los Angeles Kings.
Thirty lucky students got the chance to ask Sharp a question during an all-school assembly in a sea of red shirts, where they learned a little more about their hero.
“They were all so excited,” said Principal AnnMarie Mahay.
Accustomed to celebrity perks, Sharp enjoyed new status during his visit as the subject of a fairy tale created by first- and second-graders. Now second- and third-graders, they were thrilled to read him their tale of a boy named Patrick who played hockey.
“Instead of winning the Stanley Cup, Patrick saves Princess Abby from an evil dragon. They get married, have two daughters, and the royal family lives happily ever after,” Mahay said. “He loved it and kept talking about going home and reading it to his girls.”