A young Toronto Maple Leafs fan has caught the attention of the NHL with his Halloween costume this year.
With the help of his dad, Grayson Haire, of Trenton, Ont., will wear a 3D version of an Upper Deck MVP Auston Matthews hockey card. Matthews, who took over from John Tavares as team captain, has noticed the costume himself.
A 26-second TikTok video of Grayson talking to his dad while showing off the costume and spinning around has gone viral. Matthews posted the video as an Instastory on his Instagram account while the NHL posted it on its X, Instagram and Facebook platforms.
Grayson, a Grade 2 student, said it was his idea to dress as an Auston Matthews hockey card for Halloween this year.
“Good,” he said when asked how he feels that Matthews has seen the costume.
“You have to try it on,” he said he would say if he met Matthews.
Grant Joseph, Grayson’s dad, said he worked with a printing company, Envy Prints in Trenton, Ont., to create images that match the original card.
Joseph said he did some of the graphics work while the company did the costume’s front and back. The costume’s card part is made out of corrugated plastic.
The costume, which has two shoulder straps and one waist strap, includes a black helmet, a moustache made out of makeup, and full hockey gear minus ice skates.
“They made our whole vision come true,” Joseph said.
“It was beyond belief when he first put it on. It just kind of seemed surreal. When you look at it straight on, it kind of trips you out a little bit when you see the card actually moving in 3D.”
Joseph said he had no idea that the video, posted on his TikTok account on the weekend, would be so popular.
“You know we put it on, I believe Saturday evening at 5 o’clock, and just by the next day, we were already like over a half a million views, which is just amazing,” Joseph said.
“The NHL reached out really quick, I think less than 24 hours, they ended up moving it over to all of their platforms, and then they sent me the message that Auston Matthews had put it up,” he added.
The Maple Leafs have said they will send Grayson a jersey, while Upper Deck has said it will send trading cards.
Matthews is the reigning Rocket Richard trophy winner, after he scored a career-high 69 goals last season. That was the third time he’s won the award, which is for the player who scores the most goals in a season.