The meet-and-greet was supposed to happen a few years ago, but because of COVID-19, a broken foot and conflicting schedules, it was delayed and delayed until, finally, the moment came last Friday.
When it did, the videos posted by the Blues’ social-media team to Twitter in real time had all the “feels.” There was 5-year-old Hank Walker signing a one-day contract. And watching video with team captain Ryan O’Reilly. And taking the ice with O’Reilly after practice.
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The emotions elicited only grew a few hours later, when the Blues announced that O’Reilly had been traded to the Maple Leafs in a blockbuster deal. Walker wouldn’t get to meet up with O’Reilly at Saturday’s game, as planned.
“I got about 15 texts at like 9 or 9:30 at night and everybody was like, ‘That stinks Hank won’t get to see him tomorrow,'” Leticia Hindrichs, Walker’s mother, says. “By that time, Hank was already in bed, so I didn’t get the chance to tell him. I’m thinking my way through all of this: ‘How am I going to tell him and what am I going to say to make this OK?'”
Turns out, Walker took it just fine. Spending time with O’Reilly in his final hours as a Blue for one of his two “Make-A-Wish” dreams is something that he, and perhaps O’Reilly, won’t forget for a long time.
The family is from Southern Illinois, a small town named Rockwood.
When Walker was born, he was diagnosed with a condition called Posterior Urethral Valves. His urethra didn’t develop completely, and it left a tiny flap of skin, and that flap caused his urine to back up into his kidneys. His kidneys were polycystic, so they didn’t grow and didn’t function as they were supposed to. He was put on dialysis four days after birth.
Hindrichs and her son basically lived at the Ronald McDonald House in St. Louis while they attended dialysis appointments four to five times a week for about two years.
They weren’t really hockey fans, but at the Ronald McDonald House, they met Blues defenseman Colton Parayko, who volunteers there. Walker and Parayko became pals, so Mom started taking her toddler to the team’s games to show their support.
“The community behind the Blues was just amazing for us,” Hindrichs says.
Walker was about 2 1/2 years old when the opportunity with Make-A-Wish Foundation presented itself. He could go to Disney World, a beach, wherever. But because he was starting to enjoy hockey, pushing a ball with a stick at home, his mom suggested that something involving the Blues would be best. A vacation wasn’t feasible anyway because of his dialysis schedule.
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“Hank was figuring out who the players were, and they had asked, ‘Is there a specific one?'” Hindrichs says. “He really liked Colton, but he said, ‘Ryan O’Reilly.’ We have a picture of Hank with a sign that says, ‘I can’t say Ryan O’Reilly, so I say, ‘Ry-ro-ry-rie.'”
The request was made to meet O’Reilly in early 2020, but when COVID-19 hit, Make-A-Wish alerted the family that it would be put on hold. They stayed in contact, sending gift baskets and candy to Walker and even sending him to a Blues game for his birthday, when he got to take a ride on the Olympia machine.
Three years later, there were tentative plans to finally make the meeting happen in mid-January, but then O’Reilly broke his foot in late December and was out for six weeks.
“It was like, ‘Well, we can’t do that,'” Hindrichs says.
Then they tried for Feb. 14, but that’s Valentine’s Day, and since Hindrichs works in the restaurant industry, she asked if they could pick another date. They did: Feb. 17 (practice day) and Feb. 18 (against Colorado).
“I said, ‘Well bud, you’re going to meet Ryan O’Reilly,” Hindrichs says. “He gave his classic, ‘Whaaaat?'”
In the days leading up to the practice, they just hoped that O’Reilly wouldn’t get traded.
“I was discussing that with a friend, and he was like, ‘They’d better do it quick because there’s always the possibility,'” Hindrichs says. “I was like, ‘No, it won’t happen.'”
On Thursday night, Walker picked out a new Blues hoody and hat. The family got to the team’s practice facility Friday and remained in the car briefly. Walker was asked if he was nervous and held up his fingers: “a little bit.”
He walked into a room at 10:30 a.m., and there was O’Reilly.
“Ryan said, ‘Hey bud, what’s up?'” Hindrichs says. “Hank said, ‘Not much.’ They shook hands and Hank gave him a hug and that was it. We were on the way.”
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The two were ushered into the office of Blues general manager Doug Armstrong, who had an honorary one-day contract for Walker to sign.
“Hank looked at me, and I was like, ‘Go for it!'” Hindrichs says.
The language in the contract brought her to tears. It talked about Walker’s perseverance and bravery to get through anything, and that’s what the Blues were expecting from him.
“He was like, ‘I’m on the Blues! I’m on the Blues!'” Hindrichs says.
BREAKING NEWS: The Blues have signed Hank Walker to a one-day contract. https://t.co/x1AVPet5C2 #stlblues
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) February 17, 2023
Meanwhile, there was a growing chance that O’Reilly’s time with the Blues might be down to its final hours.
“It was difficult because there was talks going on with Toronto, and he and I signed (Walker’s) contract,” Armstrong says.
After officially inking the paperwork, Walker went into the locker room, where O’Reilly introduced him to the team and showed him his stall. Then the captain took Walker back to his own little dressing room, which included new gear, skates and a jersey with O’Reilly’s No. 90 and the last name “Walker.”
After the Blues wrapped up practice, O’Reilly brought Walker onto the ice for a few drills.
“Hank wasn’t really confident on his skates, and Ryan was actually holding him up while he was skating,” Hindrichs says. “There was a lot of support, teaching him how to do things the right way. He told Hank, ‘That’s one of the best passes that I’ve ever gotten.’ Just a lot of encouraging talk from Ryan, telling him that he was awesome.”
Stanley Cup Final… Hank's got the puck, he stickhandles, passes to O'Reilly… HE SCORES!!! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/BxdxWuOSuS
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) February 17, 2023
Walker even laid a check on the Blues’ Brayden Schenn, drawing approval from O’Reilly.
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“For me, it was really great to watch because I’ve seen Hank mess around at home, but he’s not able to play a lot of sports and learn those skills from other people on a regular basis,” Hindrichs says.
Walker and O’Reilly came off the ice and talked about Walker’s Baby Yoda shoes and how O’Reilly is deathly afraid of snakes.
It was now 12:30 p.m., two hours after they’d met, and it was time to go home.
“Ryan said, ‘Hope to see you at the game tomorrow!'” Hindrichs recalls.
The schedule for the next day included arriving at Enterprise Center for the game against the Avalanche at 11:30 a.m., watching the Blues’ pregame warmup and bumping fists with the players.
The thinking at that point was that, no doubt, there’d be another chance to see O’Reilly, too.
“Yeah, for sure,” Hindrichs says.
Best. Day. Ever. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/7zClUP4J9B
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) February 17, 2023
But late Friday night, word of the trade came. Hindrichs luckily had some time to think about what she’d say when she broke it to Walker in the morning.
“I said, ‘Hank, you’re not going to be able to see Ryan today,’ and he kind of looked at me funny,” Hindrichs says. “I said, ‘He got traded to another team,’ and he got a little sad for a second. I said, ‘But that’s OK, right?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, that’s OK, because I’ll still be proud of the team no matter what.'”
They got to the game at 11:30 a.m. and did everything on the schedule. In the end, it might’ve worked out better that the event was all postponed because, after receiving a kidney transplant at age 3 1/2, Walker was able to participate a lot more.
“He could really remember it and enjoy it,” Hindrichs says. “Now it’s one of those lasting memories that is going to stick with him forever. I got a text from someone who said, ‘I don’t think you realize how special this is — the time that Ryan gave Hank on his last day in St. Louis. It will follow him forever.'”
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On Tuesday night, in O’Reilly’s third game with his new club, he had a hat trick for the Maple Leafs.
“I did see that,” Hindrichs says.
Walker didn’t. He was in bed.
“He’ll think that’s really cool,” Mom says. “I think he’ll do his classic ‘Whaaat?'”
(Top photo of Hank Walker and Ryan O’Reilly courtesy of the Blues)
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