BOSTON — Despite growing up an ocean away, 12-year-old Liam Watson says he’s always been a fan of the Bruins. On Tuesday, he had the opportunity to practice with them.
The Bruins teamed up with the Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity (the United Kingdom’s version of the Make-A-Wish Foundation) to bring Liam and his family from Westfield, England, to TD Garden, where he joined some of his idols on the ice.
Liam skated with the team during warmups, led the post-practice stretch at center ice and received both a personalized Bruins sweater and an autographed stick from his favorite player, team captain Zdeno Chara.
“If you don’t know him, he looks really scary,” the youngster said of the hulking defenseman, who at 6-foot-9 is the tallest player in NHL history. “But if you just spent one minute with him, then he’s really nice.”
Liam, who said he’s been playing hockey for about five years, sat in Chara’s locker-room stall as he fielded questions from the assembled media, beaming after what he called “an amazing experience.”
“All of it was good,” he said. “I don’t think there was any best part or worst part. It was just good.”
His hosts seemed to enjoy the experience, as well.
“It was neat to see Liam come in here and ask to meet Zdeno and the rest of the team,” head coach Claude Julien said. “It was nice for us to be able give him that opportunity to spend some time with us.”
