Nathan Horton honoured by Boston Bruins, brought along for Game 7 – NHL Stanley Cup Finals Update
Nathan Horton might be out of the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Finals’ series but he certainly has not been forgotten by his team, Boston Bruins, which brought him along for Game 7 and paid special tribute to him on Tuesday, June 13th,
during its practice session at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
"That's something the guys wanted to do”, Bruins’ coach, Claude Julien, said on Tuesday afternoon, shortly after the team arrived and had a quick practice session at the Rogers Arena. "They wanted him to be part of our group here. Until, again, the third
game of the Final, he was a big contributor to our hockey club”.
Horton had a special stall dedicated to his memorabilia in the visitor’s locker room area which had been prepared by the team’s training staff and even the players did not know until Horton made a special appearance on the charter plane to Vancouver.
"It was really good to see him and see him being himself", backup goalie, Tuukka Rask, said of Horton being on the plane with them. "I guess he is feeling OK and that is a great thing to see. We love having him around. He's a really positive guy. He was
joking around a lot – just typical Nathan Horton".
His contribution in the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins’ series was cut short by Canucks’ defenseman, Aaron Rome, who hit him hard, face first, during the third period of Game 3.
Horton fell down on the ice after that and lied motionless until being taken out of the arena on a stretcher, only to reveal that he had a severe concussion and would not continue for the remainder of the series.
Aaron Rome was handed penalised with a four-game suspension, which meant that he was also out of the finals and gave Horton a feeling that justice had been served.
Horton is expected to fully recover and until then, he can support his team on the benches. If Bruins win its first Stanley Cup since 1972, Horton will be there to enjoy it properly with his teammates by his side.
Tags: