Plucky Teen Uses Puck to Propose Prom to Red Wings Pro

How would you ask a pro hockey player to the prom?

Ask Regina High School senior Catherine Thibault of Grosse Pointe and the answer is with great aplomb – and a hockey puck.

“PROM?!” she wrote on a piece of tape affixed to the puck, then got down on one knee in Joe Louis Arena and popped the prom question to Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader.

Thibault, 18, and other members of the Regina High School Saddlelites hockey team won a chance to  practice with Abdelkader after securing 565 pledges in AT&T Michigan’s “It Can Wait” campaign warning against the dangers of texting and driving, Teresa Mask, a senior media relations consultant for AT&T Michigan, told Patch.

He politely laughed.

“I’m kidding,” Thibault reportedly said.

Sort of.

“Famous people always get asked to the prom,” Thibault told The Detroit News. “... I told him I was kind of kidding ... but, yes, I kind of would like him to take me.”

The girls gave Abdelkader “the bum rush” when he skated onto the ice Wednesday, Mask said, but the day wasn’t all giggles and school-girl crushes.

The anti-texting campaign that brought him to Joe Louis Arena sends an important message, said Megan Zaratzian, 17, president of the school’s chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions. The goal is to make texting and driving as unacceptable as drinking and driving.

“It’s important for people to know how dangerous it is to text and drive, and we sponsor a lot of programs at the school trying to make people more aware of it,” she told the newspaper

As he practiced with team, Abdelkader offered inspirational advice to the Saddlelites – so named for the saddle shoes they wear – about doing their best, whether in the heat of a match or facing a life challenge.

“I’m driven every day to be the best player I can be,” he said, according to The Detroit News story. “Every game, you won’t feel 100 percent, but you’ve got to give it 100 percent.”

It was an experience the girls won’t soon forget – whether Abdelkaer shows up at prom or takes a pass.

“I love being here with my team and having the experience to talk with Justin and seeing how he got into hockey,” goalie Alex LeRue, told the newspaper. “It was good to hear about the commitment it takes and to get his perspective on what it takes to be the best you can be.”

Abdelkader will speak to the entire student body about the dangers of texting and driving at the Warren high school on April 3.

The hockey players from the all-girl Catholic school in Warren who had the chance-of-a-lifetime to practice with a Red Wings pro are from Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods, New Baltimore, Shelby Township, Clinton Township, Macomb Township, Marine City, Warren, Fraser, Detroit and Sterling Heights.