LOS ANGELES – With her helmet on and stick in hand, 14-year-old Alexandria Grace is ready for action. She and thousands of other Kings fans are ready to get up close and personal with their favorite players.
For her, it’s all about seeing Adrian Kempe.
“He’s a really great guy. He’s Swedish. So that’s like a plus and he has really nice hair,” said Grace.
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It all went down Thursday night at the annual Kings festival, where fans young and old got to celebrate the team they love with a chance to shoot on the ice. For Grace and her dad, the opportunity to visit the players’ locker room and hanging out with the legendary Daryl Evans and in the coaches’ press conference room, meeting head coach Todd McLellan.
She also reviewed game tape, just like the players in the film room. But for her, it was all about getting to meet Kempe, who is happy to make her fan’s day.
“This fan is one of a kind. There are definitely fans you notice more than others,” said Kempe. “When you see fans with your jersey and stuff like that, all the effort they out in to see you, you get very glad and happy. This is one of them for sure. I’m just happy to see her around all the time.”
“It means a lot to me because he’s just always so generous to me. It’s really, really sweet,” Grace said.
The best part is what this night means for the community. The festival raised $150,000 for the Kings Care Foundation, which serves the community in southern California. For this queen of young fans, it will be a night she and her dad will never forget.