Kade Foster recently celebrated his 11th birthday, but things didn't go quite as he had planned.
In a tweet that quickly went viral, Kade's dad reached out to his favorite hockey team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, looking for a little backup after no one came to his son's birthday party.
My son Kade had his 11th birthday party last night. None of his invited friends came. That hurt. I’m asking my Twit… https://t.co/7Q3g63zB3g— Jason Foster (@Jason Foster) 1572777843.0
When Leafs Captain John Tavares got word of the young fan, he decided to turn Kade's birthday into the best one he'd ever had.
Tavares called Kade on his actual birthday and invited him to come meet the team ahead of the next weekend's game!
A special birthday celebration 🎉 #LeafsForever https://t.co/hOsZmgS5eP— Toronto Maple Leafs (@Toronto Maple Leafs) 1573329656.0
ICYMI: The @MapleLeafs gave Kade a birthday party to remember last night! More: https://t.co/V1jsPxvB3t https://t.co/SFmQy9h4R0— NHL (@NHL) 1573383910.0
The Leafs went all out for Kade's big day.
.@CarltonTheBear with a special delivery for Kade 🎂 #LeafsForever https://t.co/jGDOrZtxRE— Toronto Maple Leafs (@Toronto Maple Leafs) 1573348679.0
Meeting the guys. #LeafsForever https://t.co/MCdvgzLap5— Toronto Maple Leafs (@Toronto Maple Leafs) 1573314632.0
And it wasn't only the NHL team that sounded off on Twitter.
A bunch of celebrities, including Mark Hamill and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also sent their best wishes.
Sometimes @TwitterMoments can restore your faith in humanity. It only took a moment for me to wish Kade the happies… https://t.co/93cdZdq0G6— Mark Hamill (@Mark Hamill) 1572896283.0
@NLWildlife @Marner93 @91Tavares @MapleLeafs Kade I don’t play hockey at all but Happy Birthday man!— Ben Stiller (@Ben Stiller) 1572817571.0
@NLWildlife @Marner93 @91Tavares @MapleLeafs HAPPY BIRTHDAY KADE! https://t.co/YIAKGtxi5Z— Will Arnett™ (@Will Arnett™) 1572825265.0
@NLWildlife @Marner93 @91Tavares @MapleLeafs Happy Birthday Kade! I don’t know anything about sports. Why are those… https://t.co/GZlHHPiD7b— Zach Braff (@Zach Braff) 1572829167.0
@NLWildlife @Marner93 @91Tavares @MapleLeafs Happy 11th birthday, Kade! 🎈— Justin Trudeau (@Justin Trudeau) 1572834758.0
@NLWildlife @Marner93 @91Tavares @MapleLeafs Happy birthday from California https://t.co/crVzkRefSq— Clara Jeffery (@Clara Jeffery) 1572808870.0
The National Women's Hockey League also told Kade he was more than welcome at any of their games, any time.
@NLWildlife @Marner93 @91Tavares @MapleLeafs Your friends at the NWHL wish you the happiest of birthdays, Kade! If… https://t.co/FbDfcAVmy5— NWHL (@NWHL) 1572802971.0
@NLWildlife @Marner93 @91Tavares @MapleLeafs Kade, when I was your age I didn’t have many friends, people picked on… https://t.co/hQOwdUm3fp— ᴀʀᴅᴀ Öᴄᴀʟ🏒 (@ᴀʀᴅᴀ Öᴄᴀʟ🏒) 1572800785.0
The Foster family took to Twitter once again a little bit later to thank everyone for turning Kade's birthday into such a memorable occasion.
We can’t comprehend what has happened today. Kade and the rest of us are just amazed. To EVERYONE who sent Kade a m… https://t.co/tuUiXWXlT5— Jason Foster (@Jason Foster) 1572806466.0
@MapleLeafs @NLWildlife https://t.co/JP6NuUXgk6— Creepy (@Creepy) 1572808425.0
Happy Birthday, Kade!
Hopefully there are even more great ones to come.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the "original six" teams in professional hockey. Together with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers, they created the foundation for the modern NHL.
This shirt, in a retro version of the Leafs logo, is available here.