A holiday hockey memory for a young boy from Nanaimo was shattered after a mistake involving Flair Airlines.
The Staite family flew out of Abbotsford to Edmonton to take in the Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers game at Rogers Place in the Alberta capital on Dec. 23.
During the pregame warm-up, Canucks captain Bo Horvat noticed 13-year-old Marshall Staite – who was nearby holding a sign and wearing a Canucks toque – and handed him a stick.
The Canucks even featured the moment on the team’s Instagram page.
It was a huge thrill for Marshall and the family, who are all big Canucks fans. The family went on to witness a 5-2 Canucks win that saw Horvat score two goals and two assists.
However, the flight home on Dec. 24 had issues and the family experienced a seven-hour delay in Abbotsford due to ice on the runway. During the flight delay the family learned that Flair Airlines had also misplaced the stick. They filed a missing bag report, but they did not feel too optimistic about its return.
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That disappointment quickly turned into hope when the family then received a text message from a stranger in Edmonton who spotted the stick. The traveller stated they were also looking for a stick and found the Staite’s with no bag tag but only a phone number.
Unfortunately the stick did not make it to the lost and found and the family has been unable to reach Flair Airlines at the Edmonton Airport. Janelle Staite, the mother of Marshall, went to Twitter to ask the Canucks to possibly send a replacement. She has not yet heard back from the Canucks or Flair Airlines.
@BoHorvat @Canucks @CanucksPR my sons were given Bos stick on Dec 23 but @FlairAirlines lost it on our flight home to Abbotsford on Dec 24 & won’t get back to us … can you help us out please with a Christmas Miracle? pic.twitter.com/l3WZLiaH97
— Janelle Staite (@JanelleStaite) December 27, 2022
Black Press media has reached out to Flair Airlines for comment.
The Canucks earned a 6-2 win over the San Jose Sharks in Vancouver on Tuesday (Dec. 27) and return to action when they host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday (Dec. 29).
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