by Mike Knaak
editor@thenewsleaders.com
When Dane Kenning opened his Christmas presents this year, he found a Las Vegas Golden Knights jersey bearing the name of Nate Schmidt, a former hockey star at Cathedral High School and the University of Minnesota.
Soon after opening his gift, Dane donned the jersey and joined other boys for a game of hockey on the family’s pond.
After he scored a goal, his mother Jennifer photographed the celebration and sent the photo to the Golden Knights via the NHL team’s Facebook page. The team asked permission to use the photo and they posted it on their Twitter feed with the message “Follow your dreams, kid.”
“Dane is a very humble kid (much like I hear Schmidt is) and it has been heartwarming for all of us to read the Twitter comments of so many people reminiscing about their kids (or themselves) playing pond hockey, and remembering what it’s like to be a kid with dreams,” Jennifer said.
Dane, 9, plays squirt hockey. He’s a Sabre fan but also a Cathedral hockey follower and huge Nate Schmidt fan, his mother says. Jennifer is a Cathedral graduate as are many of her family members.
Danes’s father Scott maintains the pond for skating and loves to see neighborhood kids playing on it, Jennifer said.
Dane Kenning celebrates a goal wearing his new Gold Knights hockey jersey. The team picked up the photo of Dave and posted it on their Twitter feed.
