Crawford takes 8-year-old's Flat Stanley on Blackhawks adventure

CHICAGO -- An eight-year-old girl from Indiana was hoping that Corey Crawford would take Flat Stanley on some adventures for a class project. The Chicago Blackhawks goaltender was happy to oblige.

Sofia Cackowski attends Greensburg Elementary School in Greensburg, Indiana, about four hours south of Chicago. A few weeks ago, Cackowski, 8, wrote Crawford a letter, asking him if he could take Flat Stanley on adventures and take a picture with the Blackhawks.

Flat Stanley, for those who may not be familiar, is a character from a popular children's book series. Because he is flat, he can travel easily around the world by being mailed in an envelope.
Crawford took pictures of Stanley in the Blackhawks locker room, in the Zamboni tunnel, and with former Blackhawks forwards Patrick Sharp and Adam Burish in the press box at United Center.
And of course Flat Stanley had to meet the Stanley Cup.

Crawford took a picture of the character in front of the three Cups the Blackhawks won in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
Crawford also brought Flat Stanley to the Chicago Auto Show, where he signed autographs as part of First Look for Charity on Feb. 8.
"He found his way around," Crawford said of Flat Stanley. "I thought it was something cool for Sofia and just something a little bit different. I don't know if it was done before, but it was just a little different."

Cackowski received the Flat Stanley, an autographed photo of Crawford and a letter from the Blackhawks signed by Crawford, at her school on Feb. 20. The items Cackowski received were placed on the bulletin board outside of her classroom on Friday.

Crawford, who was out with a concussion since Dec. 16, was activated off injured reserve on Monday. Coach Jeremy Colliton didn't say if Crawford will start when the Blackhawks play the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NBCSCH+, NHL.TV).
For Crawford, helping out Cackowski was special.
"I mean, when you're a kid, professional athletes, they seem kind of far away and unreachable," Crawford said. "So, if there's something we could do, something like that to try and create a little bit more connection, I think it's pretty cool."