Rangers grant wish of 7-year-old with a one-day contract (Photos)
The New York Rangers made an important announcement Thursday.
The team said it signed Kayleigh Petersen from the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey to a one-day contract. Petersen became the first female to sign a one-day deal in team history.
From the release about Petersen on the Rangers’ website.
From East Brunswick, New Jersey, Petersen began playing hockey at age five and is also currently enrolled in Ballet, Hip Hop and Gymnastics. Her speed, skill and courage have impressed Rangers talent evaluators in her various Intro to Hockey lessons over the last two seasons, as well as at her most recent stint at Full Day Hockey Camp.
Here she is being presented with a jersey from New York Liberty legend Teresa Weatherspoon.
.@nyliberty great @Finisher_11 presents Kayleigh with a personalized Libs jersey! #BurnBright #GDFWEEK pic.twitter.com/Am0jYr4nVR
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 3, 2015
Petersen joined the Rangers on the ice at Madison Square Garden prior to Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. Here is the video provided by New York’s official Twitter feed.
New #NYR Kayleigh Petersen leads the Blueshirts on to the ice @TheGarden! #GDFWEEK @gardenofdreams pic.twitter.com/HkZg1hcIZ4
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 3, 2015
On Wednesday, Petersen and her family went to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and met Santa Claus before the show. Santa gave her an iPad that had a video of Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist inviting her to Thursday’s game.
Here are photos of Petersen meeting some of the Rangers’ players.
Kayleigh meets some of her #NYR teammates on the team bench. #GDFWEEK @gardenofdreams pic.twitter.com/ZCBAYnhott
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) December 3, 2015
This was part of the Rangers’ “Garden of Dreams Night” at MSG. In 2009, Petersen was diagnosed with a disease called Tyrosinemia Type 1. Below is the description from WebMD:
Tyrosinemia type I is a rare autosomal recessive genetic metabolic disorder characterized by lack of the enzyme fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH), which is needed for the final break down of the amino acid tyrosine. Failure to properly break down tyrosine leads to abnormal accumulation of tyrosine and its metabolites in the liver, potentially resulting in severe liver disease.
Petersen had a liver transplant in 2009. Since then she has gotten stronger and taken up both dance and hockey, according to her bio provided by the Rangers.
The Garden of Dreams Foundation is a “non-profit organization that works with The Madison Square Garden Company and MSG Networks Inc. to positively impact the lives of children facing obstacles.”
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
