Austin Merkley is a 17-year-old who suffers from Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy, but he’s not letting that stand in his way of someday becoming a sports broadcaster. On Thursday night, Austin got the full experience of his dream job as he got to team up with TSN’s Brent Wallace to interview Ottawa Senators forward Bobby Ryan during the first intermission of their game against the Florida Panthers.
Thanks to the Eastern Ontario division of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Ottawa Senators, and the Ottawa Senators Foundation, Austin was given the ultimate all-star treatment on Thursday and it started much earlier in the day.
Aside from getting the chance to interview one of his favourite players during the first intermission and getting to meet the players while taking in their practice, Austin also got to announce the starting lineup ahead of the game and the players gave him quite the ovation during each call.
It’s always awesome to see sports franchises and professional athletes step up like this because small moments like these ones go a very long way.
