JONATHAN ANG: Markham 10-year-old won contest to join Leafs during national anthem tonight.
Sports
February 21, 2008 07:23 AM
When the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Buffalo Sabres tonight at the Air Canada Centre, Jonathan Ang will be on the ice.
The Markham resident won’t be donning a uniform nor is he a part of the officiating crew.
Moments before the players make their way to their bench for the start of the contest, the 10-year-old Ang will take to the ice and wave a flag bearing the Leafs’ logo and proceed to join the starters on the blue line during the singing of the national anthems.
Ang earned that distinction after he was recently chosen as a winner in the McDonald’s In the Line up with the Toronto Maple Leafs contest.
The contest, which is in its second season, selects a minor hockey player from across Ontario for each of the Leafs’ home games.
A member of the Markham Waxers AAA minor atoms, Ang entered the contest in late December by logging on to the McDonald’s website.
His mother encouraged him to enter.
Winning the prize was a surprise and dream come true.
“I didn’t think I would win a prize as big as this,” he said.
He’s a fan of the Maple Leafs.
A Grade 4 student at St. Justin Martyr Catholic School, Ang said the prize is the highlight thus far in his on-ice career.