Vancouver Canucks fans got the chance to meet the team's all-star forward at a meet and greet in Bothwell.
NHL star Bo Horvat grew up close by in Rodney, Ontario and played minor hockey at the Bothwell Arena for years.
Horvat was in Bothwell from 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday to sign autographs and chat with local hockey fans.
The pro hockey player says he loves opportunities like these to meet fans close to his home town.
"It's awesome, I mean just to see the support I have being so far away from Vancouver and all the people that show their support coming out here. There's no place like home and there's no place like a small town feel. For all these people to come out and for all these people to come out and support the arena, it's amazing," says Horvat.
During Chatham-Kent municipal budget talks in 2016, the arena's funding was almost completely cut. The Horvat family fought to keep the facility open and to keep the tradition of the John Horvat Memorial Hockey Tournament alive.
The Canucks forward tweeted out to fans eager to rally support:
Bo's uncle, Bob Hamilton, came up with the idea for the meet and greet to get more people to visit the arena.Help keep my grandfathers tournament alive and the Bothwell arena going ! Please show your support #SmallTownLove
— Bo Horvat (@BoHorvat) January 16, 2016
"This whole thing that we're trying to do here is to utilize the arena a lot more than what we have in the past," he says. "It sat pretty well empty every summer for years, we really don't have much recreation out here so this is just fitting in perfect for everything we're trying to do."
Bob Hamilton plans to host another autograph signing session soon with his other nephew, Clachan native Travis Konecny, who plays for the Philadelphia Flyers.