Kris Letang is used to racking up the assists out on the ice for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but his most recent off-ice helper has a much larger meaning to filling the scoresheet.
The Penguins superstar defenceman wrote a check that matched his No. 58 with three extra zeros on the end to a seven-year-old cancer patient who's recovering from T-cell leukemia.
Ian Rosenbaum of Stoystown, Pennsylvania, received a cheque for $58,000 from Letang to help cover the medical costs of his treatment. In Pittsburgh for an appointment on Thursday, Rosenbaum was invited to morning skate after first meeting his idol back in September following the diagnosis.
Letang then personally delivered the cheque to Rosenbaum and his family at the PPG Paints Arena.
Per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Letang reached out to the family back at the start of the season when he found out about Ian had cancer.
Letang attended a fundraiser to promote and help out with donations but decided to donate his own personal share of dollars.
"Kris is a true hero to Ian," said Joelle Rosenbaum, Ian's mother, to the Penguins.
"He definitely looks up to him. He talks about him every time he's at Children's (Hospital) to all the nurses. That's something he will remember forever."
"It has been amazing, overwhelming," said Ian's mother Joelle. "For Ian to go through this and for someone like Kris to take time for our child is simply amazing."
"For kids to go through this, it's just harsh," Letang told the Tribune-Democrat. "Any way I could help, I felt I would do it."
(h/t Penguins, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
