On February 12th in Denver, CO, The officiating crew of Dan O’Halloran, Ian Walsh, Kiel Murchison, and Brandon Gawryletz learned the story of a very brave young girl named Emi Fryzlewicz.
Little Emi had won a draw through the Dawg Nation Hockey Foundation for free tickets to the game which saw the Colorado Avalanche host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, however, she was unable to attend the game.
Emi was born with Turner’s Syndrome, a genetic disorder that can cause some very serious health issues. Lately, she has been experiencing some complications with her heart and had to have a scary procedure the day before at Children’s Hospital. We are happy to say that Emi came through the procedure with flying colors and is now back at home.
A little over a year ago, Dawg Nation had generously donated $62,000 to the Fryzlewicz family at their Copper Mountain Pond Tournament and even though she was unable to attend the game, they wanted to make sure she was still very much a part of the evening. Surely the officiating crew had Emi on their minds as they took to the ice that night, and with the help of the Executive Director of Dawg Nation Martin Richardson, Emi was presented with the game puck signed by the officials as well as a few other items.
Emi, all of us in the NHL Officials Association would like to wish you the best, and we were honored to learn about you and hear your story.
To learn more about Dawg Nation visit their website at https://www.dawgnationhockey.org