CORRECTION: In the print version of this story, the writer incorrectly identified Veronica several times. We apologize profusely for the errors.
- cZ
ATHABASCA – Front row seats to the Oilers game and a behind-the-scenes tour of Rogers Place? That sounds like a pretty good surprise for just about anyone, but especially for a local little girl, who is well on her way to becoming the next Oilers super fan.
If you happened to be watching the Nov. 1 Edmonton Oilers game against the Nashville Predators that night, you may have seen then eight, now nine-year-old Veronica Logan, decked out with her face painted and a new Oilers jersey, sporting No. 97, waving her sign proudly, behind the net with another Oilers super fan — Superfan Magoo — a Rogers Place staple who lives up to his name when the Oilers play in their home barn, and originally a resident of Calling Lake, north of Athabasca.
Earlier that day, Veronica had just finished up one of her many stays at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton. She has been in and out of the facility since 2017, dealing with a blood disorder and heart condition. To this point, her visits for IV treatment have been less frequent, about every three months, but will soon be required on a weekly basis, said her mom Jaselyn Logan, when they stopped by the Advocate office last week to talk about the experience.
Jaselyn and Magoo know each other from Calling Lake, where they both grew up, and upon hearing of Veronica’s ordeal of the last five years, he decided to make Nov. 1 an extra special day for her.
“I’m not too sure how everything kind of came about, it happened so fast. One of Veronica’s wishes that we talked about was going to an Oilers game,” Jaselyn explained. “We went to a game together in October, and it was just by chance that we saw him there and asked to take a picture. Later on, I got a message asking about the sign she was holding, and he reached out and said he would like to take Veronica to the Oilers game … and it just kind of snowballed.”
Veronica’s sign, of which she made a similar version for her front row appearance against the Predators, read, “Miracles happen every day. I am a Stollery kid since 2017.”
It wasn’t the first Oilers game she had ever been to, having been in Edmonton so often in the last five years, it was actually her third, but being up close enough to touch the glass behind the Oilers net, was something she’ll never forget, Veronica said, and that was just the last highlight of the day. Her special day started earlier that morning, as she walked out of the Stollery, having missed Halloween the night before.
She was greeted by the man in orange and blue, the superfan named Magoo, whose first surprise for young Veronica was a bag of Halloween treats, then it was off to a donair lunch near Rogers Place, which included some specially-made cupcakes for the guest of honour.
“So, I got picked up by Magoo and I did not know what to do,” said Veronica, describing the experience in her own words. “First, we went for some lunch, and then we went to Rogers Place, but before I got lunch, I made my own jersey. And I really liked getting my face painted before I went.”
She also got to see places that not many people get to see, like the Sportsnet broadcast control room, and the people who work there, where she got a quick tutorial on how to make a replay of a great Oilers play for TV.
And being on TV? That was pretty cool too, she said. You could spot Veronica behind the net with Magoo, waving her sign, and banging on the Indigenous drum he brings to every game he attends, which she thoroughly enjoyed as well.
“It was very fun, and it was the best day of my life,” said Veronica.
