Canucks top prospect Brock Boeser takes fan with Down syndrome to prom
Lien Yeung | CBC News | Posted: May 9, 2016 2:07 AM | Last Updated: May 9, 2016
Former homecoming queen Baylee Bjorge asked Boeser to be her date through Instagram
The Vancouver Canucks may have landed themselves a young prospect with a lot more than just on-ice depth.
Brock Boeser, the team's 2015 first round draft pick, took Baylee Bjorge, a big fan who was born with Down syndrome, to her prom on Saturday night.
"Amazing!" said Bjorge about the experience. "One of my friends was jealous."
It left the twenty-year-old young woman from Grand Forks, North Dakota, with "sweet dreams," said her mother Katie Marcotte.
Boeser called it an honour to accompany Bjorge on an occasion as special as a prom.
"She's a great girl," he said in a phone interview with CBC News. "Guess the whole town pretty much knows her. From what I get, she's miss popular!"
The 19-year-old has become a college hockey star after scoring a record-breaking 27 goals in his first year with the University of North Dakota this past year.
He helped lead the team to a national college championship and has been compared to hockey icons such as Jonathan Toews.
Fans have taken notice as his Twitter account has steadily climbed to more than 10,000 followers.
During Bjorge's prom, Marcotte says the hockey player was "bombarded" with teens asking for his autograph and photos, but he made sure it was all about her daughter.
"I told him, you should go, it's going to get crazy and he said, 'It's okay, I'll do whatever Baylee wants,'" she gushed. "He's just incredible. I can't say say enough about him."
As flattered as he was, Boeser wasn't looking for the attention. After word got out about the date, he was surprised by all the media fuss.
"I didn't tell anyone about it really, except a few of my friends," he said. "It was just something I wanted to do from the bottom of my heart but it's tremendous to see the support."
As for Bjorge, she continues to relive the memories from her prom night, smiling as she thought of her two favourite moments from the evening.
The first was when their names were announced during their entrance parade. Marcotte said the crowd went wild.
"He also spun me around at the grand march," giggled Bjorge. It was a "signature move" that she and Boeser came up with together.
That brought another round of loud cheers, said her mother.
Bjorge graduates high school this year and hopes to be accepted into the University of North Dakota, the school of her favourite hockey team.
Although, both the young woman and her mom admit, they have become Vancouver Canucks fans too thanks to Boeser.