By Rick Stephens, Editor-in-Chief, All Habs Hockey Magazine

MONTREAL, QC. — There has never been a better time to be a sports fan.  New media sources like ours provide readers with more information and analysis than they have ever had before. And players are far more accessible than they have ever been. In Montreal, fans can attend practice at Brossard, watch behind the scenes action on 24CH and interact with their heroes on social media.

The demands on a player’s time have never been greater.  And yet, more than in any other sport, professional hockey players are polite, patient people happy to take a few minutes for their fans.  In my experience, I can only remember one player being incredibly rude and arrogant (on multiple occasions.) But I was not the only one to receive the same treatment from Jose Theodore.

And just as the vast majority of players are very giving, most fans are very appreciative of anytime they get to spend with their player favorites. To see players through the glass at practice, to get a photo with them or to be fortunate enough to get an autograph can be a memorable moment that will stay with fans for their entire life. I felt that when meeting Jean Beliveau for the first time.

It doesn’t happen often but I’ve heard fans grumble.  P.K. Subban was the target of their anger on one occasion even though he had already taken two dozen photos with fans before driving off for his afternoon nap on game day. Fans can be unrealistic forgetting that these professionals have a job to do. Sometimes that hockey thing gets in the way of personal fan priorities.

Recently we reported on Carey Price‘s charity work this summer for the Carson Kolzig Foundation and the Breakfast Club. The latter is a cause that is quite near to Price’s heart with Carey personally funding the program for 10,000 meals per year for children in his home town of Anahim Lake, B.C.

On July 15th, Carey and Angela Price met with more than 1,000 people to help raise money for Breakfast Club of Canada. The guests had made a $20 donation to the charity for the opportunity. The Breakfast Club is a non-profit organization that supports school breakfast programs across Canada.

Following the event, I came across a piece written in the Kelowna Daily Courier. It was written as a Special to The Daily Courier and titled “Meeting Price a colossal disappointment.”  Obviously it caught my attention.

It was written by Sheryl Theessen, a Kelowna grandmother to a 7-year-old boy who idolizes Price. Theessen was told by organizers that her grandson would only have a very short time with Price.  That should have been obvious with more than 1,000 people waiting to be seen in the two-hour time period of the event (that’s a pace of about nine people per minute.)

The grandmother didn’t hold back her disappointment writing,

“Well, not only did Price not say one word to my grandson, he also never cracked even a hint of a smile. He was wooden and unapproachable and looked like being at H2O and signing autographs for the Breakfast Club of Canada was the very last thing on earth he wanted to be doing that morning.”

“He was nothing but hugely disappointing.”

Carey Price is fully capable of speaking on his own behalf. But he’s not the type to worry about what fans say about him. Not anymore, at least. And Carey would be far too polite to say what I’m about to write: Ms Theessen, that’s a pile of rubbish.

I have been fortunate to meet Carey Price on many occasions. Never once did he give off the feeling that he would rather be anywhere else. And I can’t imagine that he would do that with a seven year old.

But let’s be clear, I wasn’t there. Could Price have been having a bad day? Possible, but Theessen’s description was polar opposite to what was reported by dozens of other Canadiens fans on social media who were at the event that day.

And despite his grandmother being so eager to put a negative spin on the day, I suspect that the 7-year-old was pretty happy with his photo with Price.

But Theessen wasn’t finished. She had a message for the charity too.

“My suggestion to the Breakfast Club of Canada is to find themselves another hockey hero for their ambassador and make sure the person they choose will be the role model they are looking for, someone fans will continue to look up to long after the event has passed, someone who truly gives the impression they are glad to be meeting fans and supporting the charity they are representing.”

I honestly began to wonder if Ms. Theessen turned up at the wrong event. Does her description sound like the Price we all know?  Contrast her words with what former NHL’er Olie Kolzig said after Price attended his charity event, “We are really considering putting Carey’s name on the event. He resonates with a totally different generation. To be as humble and unassuming as he is a rare trait for an athlete.”

In her article, Theessen revealed that she went into the event with expectations.

“What this experience did provide was the opportunity to talk to my grandson about how to conduct himself should he ever find himself in the same position, signing autographs for adoring fans.”

Sounds a little unreasonable to me. If Price had time for any advice (which he didn’t), he likely would have spoken about practicing, working hard and being willing to do the things that others were not willing to do. The last thing on his mind would be to prepare a 7-year-old for an autograph session.

And about that description of Price being “wooden.” He is not as ebullient as P.K. Subban, nor does he speak in well-practised hockey cliches like Sidney Crosby.  Price is genuine, humble and, most of all, grounded.

Be upset at the organizers if you felt rushed through because of the crowds. But to write an article like this and advocate for the removal of the charity ambassador is irresponsible.

Perhaps the grandmother, herself, missed a teaching opportunity: no matter the successes in life, always be yourself and remember your roots.  If she looked a bit harder, she had the perfect example right in front of her.

I suspect that if Theessen had done a little research about her grandson’s hockey hero in advance, she wouldn’t had arrived at the event with an agenda and an all too common sense of entitlement. She may even have stumbled upon the video from March of this year of Carey and Trent Leon. Trent is the 11-year-old from Price’s hometown of Anahim Lake. The young boy was chosen to hand deliver handmade cards from his schoolmates to thank Price for supporting the Breakfast Club.

Trent’s principal spoke of the meeting between the boy and his hero saying, “I was there, and Carey definitely had tears in his eyes. Trent’s a man of few words, kind of like Carey — big heart, very humble, cares about people.”

And then he added, “They really connected.”

Watch the video and see if you agree. And Ms. Theesson, I’m pretty sure that the charity is in very good hands with their current ambassador.