“Came 2562 miles for Larkin to sign my jersey”

By @MichaelCaples –

Sydney Pihach traveled all the way from Saskatoon, Saskatachewan to see her favorite player compete for the Red Wings.

She left with quite the memory – and some ink from No. 71.

Pihach, who is about to start post-secondary school to become a nurse, caught the attention of some cameras and her favorite player Saturday evening in Detroit, thanks to a catchy sign.

It read, “Came 2562 miles for Larkin to sign my jersey.”

“Originally I was going to make a sign for the February 22nd game but ran out of time,” Pihach told MiHockey. “I sat by the glass again at this game and held up a little Larkin jersey that took me forever to find and just smiled at him hoping he’d look over. To make my last Detroit game for the season something to remember, I wanted to show Larkin my appreciation to what he has to offer to the team.”

Bold strategy. It worked.

Larkin noticed the sign during warm-ups before the Carolina vs. Detroit contest (see MiHockey’s photos from the game here) and tossed her a puck. That would have been memorable enough, according to Pihach.

But to her surprise, right after the Wings saluted the Little Caesars Arena crowd after their 3-1 win, Larkin started skating towards her in the far corner of the ice.

“My jaw dropped as soon as I saw him pointing at me,” Pihach said.

There was a sign in one of the corners of @LCArena_Detroit tonight that said “Came 2562 miles for Larkin to sign my jersey.”@Dylanlarkin39 delivered right after the game.#RedWings pic.twitter.com/pYSDwPbqkG

— Michael Caples (@michaelcaples) February 25, 2018

“He has been my idol for three years and he did something that meant the world to me, especially for my last live NHL Red Wings game for the season. I started to cry of happiness and shock. I wish I would have said something, but stood there in awe. Hopefully one day I can meet him formally.”

Needless to say, Larkin cemented himself as Pihach’s favorite player.

“He definitely did not have to do that, especially since he had a game the next day in New York. I only expected the puck and I was okay with that, however this just made my stay in Detroit the most incredible experience I’ve ever had. Larkin truly cares about the people who support him and I know he will always be my favorite player.”

Here’s the video Pihach has of the moment:

And here’s the ink: