The Hernandez family from Glendale, Jenny, Rafael, 6-year-old Mia and 4-year-old Gracie, are all huge Coyotes fans, but the girls are the biggest of the bunch.
Jenny saw their love for the team as a learning opportunity and has encouraged her daughters to pen letters to players to help with their writing skills.
"For me as a mom to see progression in my kids' writing, it's really cool, it's really helping them out a lot to practice," Jenny said.
When the family went to the Coyotes' open practice at the Ice Den in Scottsdale, Gracie had a letter ready to give to Duclair, her favorite player, welcoming him back to the team after his stint with the Tuscon Roadrunners.
"Normally they don't really read them in front of the kids, it's like 'OK, thanks,' which is great," Jenny said. "But he was just there and very open and talking to us for a minute and I said 'Oh, you know, you should read the letter.'"
Jenny scrambled to get her phone to capture the moment and caught most of it, and was surprised Duclair shared it on social media after she sent it to him.
"I'm a huge fan too, so I still get excited when they come over and talk to us," she said.
