The lineup for autographs along the fences was hundreds deep ahead of Keira Cosh as the Vancouver Canucks made the rounds after their training camp workouts Saturday, but she didn't mind.
Cosh knew eventually she'd have all their signatures on her jersey. If the afternoon reception in front of CN Centre was any indication, the Canucks don't mind going the extra mile to get up close and personal with their fans.
Cheered as they walked out of the arena, the players signed body parts, cracked jokes with the fans and posed for selfies - all to make sure the people of Prince George and surrounding areas left smiling.
"I've loved the Canucks my whole life - I'm going to faint right now, I'm so excited to see them," said Cosh, 25. Cosh is from a family of six, all of whom are Canuck diehards, and took in all three days of training camp.
She left totally impressed at the display of skill and athleticism the players brought to the ice.
"It's amazing, I've never seen anything so fast," said Cosh.
"I watch every game but it's different seeing them live, and it's just practice. We're so lucky to have them here."
Away from the rink it's tough to identify the twins, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, but Cosh thinks she's got them figured out.
"I don't know how, but I feel like I know which one looks like who," Cosh said.
Cosh figured Canucks rookie defenceman Jordan Subban, the brother Montreal Canadiens defenceman P.K.,was the most impressive player on the ice Saturday.
"I was watching some of the drills where they skate back and his tight turns were crazy,' she said. "I really hope they come back. They've been great with the fans and I love how they salute the fans every time when they go off the ice. That's my favourite part, I get goosebumps."
Jason Fox, 37, is originally from Vancouver and has been to many Canucks games, including playoffs and the night Trevor Linden had his number retired, but in all that time, he's never had access to the players like he had this weekend watching training camp.
Fox was wearing his bright yellow Linden-autographed early-90's-era retro jersey with the big skate logo. Linden signed it in May when he came to Prince George to announce Canucks camp was coming to the city for the first time.
"I lived in Vancouver my whole life and ever since '94 (when they got to the finals for the first time) I've been a real Canuck fan," said Fox. "I've attended many games but here it's very one-on-one, it's very personal and it's great for the local fans here. We never get a chance to see them this close and I think it's great they're traveling to other communities.
"The team has some young talent I wasn't even aware of. They're looking really good out there."
Although there were plenty of empty seats in the CN Centre stands, all 5,688 tickets for the on-ice workouts were sold for Saturday and Sunday and 5,100 were snapped up for Friday.
All proceeds will be donated to local charities through the Canucks for Kids Fund.
Saturday started under rainy skies with the Save-On-Foods pancake breakfast in front of the rink to raise money for B.C. Children's Hospital. The skies brightened in the afternoon just in time for the post-workout fan activities, which included a mascot contest, kids media conference and street hockey games. Canucks colours were abundant in the crowd and 13-year-old Liam Frose was in the autograph line wearing his Alex Burrows jersey. The veteran Canucks winger stayed so long signing his name Friday he missed the team bus and had to hail a cab.
"Alex is awesome, I met him today and he signed my jersey, he seemed really nice, a real cool guy," said Frose, who plays bantam house league hockey.
"It's kind of breathtaking watching him play that close."
His aunt, Sherry Frose, 28, had on a Kevin Bieksa jersey, but now that the veteran defenceman has been traded to Anaheim she has a new favourite - winger Chris Higgins.
"I love Higgins' commitment to the special needs kids, he's just a cool guy who works hard on the ice," she said.
"I've been a Canucks fan my entire life. It's fantastic to have them here and see the speed and commitment and how hard they work every day.
"I hope we get them back. Maybe an exhibition game, that would be amazing. It's been surreal having them here, it's a dream come true. In Vancouver you can never see them up close."
