What a blast from the past: That kid with the toothy smile who’s enjoying a ride on the ice resurfacer is none other than famous musician and Boca Raton native Ariana Grande. When she was a mere tyke, this flourishing and otherwise normal person went to a number of Florida Panthers games. That’s right: more than one!
Over the weekend, hockey writer and Sudbury Wolves team historian Mike Commito shared the newspaper clipping about then-5-year-old Grande, who was hit by a puck at Florida’s home opener in their new arena. It was the second time that the devout Panthers fan had been hit in the wrist by a puck in her very short life. She wasn’t seriously injured, and the team gave her some free stuff, which she hopefully threw away immediately.
The “Boca kid” acknowledged her hockey past on Sunday:
Adorable! This is by far the Florida Panthers’ most noteworthy fan, which is good, because that title used to belong to Kevin Spacey.