The New York Rangers are paying tribute to Teddy Balkind.
Balkind, a sophomore defenseman at St. Luke's School in New Canaan, Connecticut, died from a neck injury sustained during a junior varsity high school hockey game against Brunswick School on Jan. 6. To honor Balkind, who wore No. 5 for St. Luke's, the Rangers wore warmup jerseys with his name and number before their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
The Rangers also hung Balkind's jersey above their bench and introduced Teddy's teammates, who were wearing St. Luke's jerseys, to the crowd. "It's emotional," defenseman Adam Fox said. "I mean, it's a terrible tragedy and you never want to see anything like that, especially to a kid who is so young. We've got a lot of people who are close to that area. It's terrible but it was a nice way to honor [Balkind] and it was nice to see all his teammates there too."
The 16-year-old's sudden passing left many in the NHL and hockey community heartbroken, posting their condolences to social media and prompting players to place hockey sticks outside their homes, joining the Twitter movement #SticksOutForTeddy.
"This [win] feels good, especially at home and a big night for the Connecticut community," forward Ryan Strome said. "It's just a really good feeling."
