Heartwarming moments at the NHL Awards and Intro for June 20, 2019

Dear Gossips,

The NHL Awards took place in Las Vegas last night, hosted by Kenan Thompson. St Louis Blues superfan Jon Hamm was there and he introduced Alex Trebek, who presented the Hart Memorial Trophy (the league’s MVP) to Nikita Kucherov. Alex, as you can see, looked great. Strong. Alex told PEOPLE a couple of weeks ago that, while he still has to go through more chemotherapy and radiation, he’s responding very well to cancer treatment and that some of his tumours have been reduced by as much as 50%. He received a standing ovation. It was a heartwarming moment.

There were several other heartwarming moments. The Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy is awarded to a player who’s demonstrated perseverance and dedication on and off the ice. This year the recipient is Robin Lehner – here’s part of his acceptance speech:

Show this @RobinLehner clip to someone who needs it. 💛

"I am not ashamed to say I'm mentally ill. But that does not mean mentally weak." pic.twitter.com/3JTkWXjw3z— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) June 20, 2019

Robin wrote a piece for The Athletic last year about his bipolar diagnosis. As he says, he got help and he continues to do the work and he’s also working to support mental health awareness initiatives, in part by setting this kind of example on such a big stage.

And then there’s Anderson Whitehead. Anderson’s favourite player is Carey Price. He first met Carey back in March:

Best of the Week...

Anderson Whitehead meeting his idol Carey Price... Anderson's mom promised she would help her son meet Price, but after tragically losing her to cancer, the Habs star made it a reality.@StuCowan1's article: https://t.co/D95m9lxfTG pic.twitter.com/fnx4YhjPGX— Tim and Sid (@timandsid) March 2, 2019

Last night, Anderson and Carey were reunited. If you haven’t seen this yet, be ready for some emotion. Like a LOT of emotion. This boy is going to remember this kindness forever.