Rangers make 15-year-old’s dream come true, sign him to one-day contract

[tfong]

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/r...dream-come-true-sign-him-to-one-day-contract/

Chris Falzone will have his dream come true on Monday night when he skates onto the ice as a member of the New York Rangers.

Falzone, 15, is a cancer survivor and, along with months of treatment and therapy, hockey is what kept him going.

“His skills were impeccable and we decided as an organization that we had to sign this young man,†said Rangers legend Adam Graves in a release. “He is a young man of great character and desire, we are proud and honored to have him as part of the Rangers organization.â€

In his freshman year of high school, Falzone began to feel discomfort in his hip. What was initially thought to be pain from growth spurts or simply soreness from physical activity was later diagnosed as non-Hodgkin mature B cell lymphoma, a form of bone cancer. Luckily, the cancer was caught early enough to allow for a full recovery, but it has been a difficult road back to hockey for Falzone. He underwent months of physical and chemotherapy, and it has all led to skating out onto Madison Square Garden ice as a member of the Rangers.


#NYR Legend Adam Graves and new Blueshirt Chris Falzone sign his 1 day contract. @gardenofdreams #GDFWeek2014 pic.twitter.com/16LwP8V2fD

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 8, 2014



When he was first diagnosed, Falzone was told it was unlikely that he would ever play hockey again, doctors telling him that he may have to undergo a full hip replacement. When his treatment options changed, it gave Falzone a glimmer of hope – if all went according to plan, he may be able to get back on the ice.

In April, Falzone, a lifelong Rangers fan, received a call from Graves and was invited to be a guest of the Rangers, even receiving an autographed jersey from his favorite player, defenseman Ryan McDonagh. It took until June for Falzone to have a fully healed hip, and a late June update on his YouCaring.com page, a fundraising website, let those following the young defenseman that he was well on his way to getting back on his skates.

As of July, Falzone was cleared to skate and has since rejoined the Middletown South High School team.

The Rangers, working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey, offered Falzone the contract on Dec. 4 after he took part in an open practice with the team.

Classy NY stuff and props to the kid for going through the treatment process and never giving up on his dream.

Click to read more...

 

[crasherino]

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/r...dream-come-true-sign-him-to-one-day-contract/



Classy NY stuff and props to the kid for going through the treatment process and never giving up on his dream.

I wonder if this affects his amateur status????

 

[BonMorrison]

Always like hearing this stuff. Good on the NYR organization.

 

[NYRPat21]

Too much term. Great move by NYR, love hearing stuff like this.

 

[darkbrew*]

sens did it

 

[Devilsfan118]

I can put aside my hatred for everything Rangers related for a moment to acknowledge what a cool thing this is.

 

[Patmac40]

Went bar-down on Lundy.
[nhl]694177[/nhl]

 

[7toZulu]

I've always thought it would be awesome to ditch the All-Star game and play one with kids like this/other fans who've been through a lot in life. It's a meaningless game anyway, and it seriously is the stuff of dreams for a kid like this. It would be great promotion for the league in general.

 

[Le Tricolore]

I've always thought it would be awesome to ditch the All-Star game and play one with kids like this/other fans who've been through a lot in life. It's a meaningless game anyway, and it seriously is the stuff of dreams for a kid like this. It would be great promotion for the league in general.

No one would pay to watch a bunch of kids. Would be horrible exposure for the league.

 

[Thierry]

Totally off topic, but I LOVE that practice jersey, I love that logo, can't believe they mostly use the "R A N G E R S" logo .

That reminds me of the Sharks who did the same thing, the video was so moving, even Thornton looked shocked !

 

[Elimanator]

Good Job Rangers

 

[Eagle Eye Cherry]

More teams should do stuff like this. Although I think whichever guy who signs a 1 day contract should at least play a shift like for real.

Just imagine that, every hardcore fan lacing them skates up and play against pros.

It would be like that show on spiketv - pros vs joes

 

[Kane One]

With the way Lundqvist's season is going, it's hard to tell if he was actually trying.

 

[donghabs98]

Very classy/ Nice move by the rangers and congratulations to Chris.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Clear cap circumvention.

Always great when teams do these kind of things. Though the Senators press release when they hired the kid as a scout was great since it read like an actual press release.

 

[tsujimoto74]

More teams should do stuff like this. Although I think whichever guy who signs a 1 day contract should at least play a shift like for real.

Just imagine that, every hardcore fan lacing them skates up and play against pros.

It would be like that show on spiketv - pros vs joes

Imagine if, in that one shift, that kid got run over by an actual player and was seriously hurt? That's a terrible idea, man.

Good on the Rangers. Love seeing stuff like this.

 

[InfinityIggy]

Love when teams do stuff like this Well done NYR.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Good job Rangers.

 

[Machinehead]

The sad thing is, this is Sather's best signing in years

Seriously though, the Rangers do a lot of charity work, and last summer threw the fans a free Eastern Conference Championship party, where we got to meet legends and see the trophy. It makes me proud when they give back to the community.

 

[iFishyHD]

Good job Rangers . Kid has better hands then Adams...no joke.

 

[Seatoo]

Lmao the kids got skills too!

 

[Pi]

Little girl singing the anthem. Great job by the Rangers.

 

[CanadianFlyersFan18]

No one would pay to watch a bunch of kids. Would be horrible exposure for the league.

People are paying to watch the Flyers.. Same thing isn't it ?

 

[7toZulu]

No one would pay to watch a bunch of kids. Would be horrible exposure for the league.

I see why you chose the avatar...

 

[tom_servo]

I've always thought it would be awesome to ditch the All-Star game and play one with kids like this/other fans who've been through a lot in life. It's a meaningless game anyway, and it seriously is the stuff of dreams for a kid like this. It would be great promotion for the league in general.

You've really always thought that? Think about it some more.