As the hockey world and Mark Scheifele mourned the passing of his father, a special gesture was made by fans to truly show just how much they cared.
Saturday saw the hockey community unite in an emotional gesture of solidarity and support for Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele, following the sudden death of his father, Brad Scheifele.
The announcement, made by the Jets on Saturday morning, brought an instantaneous and emotional response from fans across the NHL world.
In a heartfelt gesture of respect to Scheifele, fans began contributing $55 (a figure that corresponds to his jersey number) to the Winnipeg Jets' charitable foundation, the True North Youth Foundation.
The gesture caught on quickly on social media, with condolences and inspirational messages attached to screenshots of donations. The drive gained momentum even among the fans of other teams, in addition to many fans of the Dallas Stars, as well.
Over $30,000 was collected in a matter of slightly more than an hour following Winnipeg's season-ending 2-1 defeat to the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of their second-round playoff series, according to Krista Sinaisky, a True North Sports + Entertainment representative.
'A wonderful outpouring of support from the hockey community on a very tough day for the Jets family, our True North Youth Foundation is extremely grateful,' Sinaisky said in an e-mail to Sportsnet.
Despite the ghastly news just hours before the game, Scheifele chose to play and tallied the Jets' only goal of the night.
His resilience on the ice was a testament to the overall resilience of the community rallying behind him during an extremely challenging moment.
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