'Tears of Joy': Fan in KHL Jersey Snags Autographed Stick from Buchnevich

Sometimes the smallest gestures can have the greatest impacts.
Wednesday night, 12-year-old Benjamin Lefkowitz ventured down to ice level for warmups before the Rangers took on the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden.
While it's common for Blueshirts fans to head down to get as close as they can to see their favorite players pregame, what set Lefkowitz apart Wednesday was the jersey he was wearing.

It wasn't a typical Rangers sweater you're likely to see every night, but rather Pavel Buchnevich's sweater from his days playing for his hometown team of Cherepovets of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League.
"I got the jersey from my grandpa off a Russian website," said Lefkowitz, a season ticket holder. "It's the KHL and I Like the style. It's a cool jersey."

Several Blueshirts waved to Lefkowitz during warmups, but when he saw Buchnevich, he knew he had to show off his unique jersey, which took several months to arrive in New York.
"First off, when I was there on the glass I was crying already when they were waving to me," Lefkowitz said. "Obviously when I see a Rangers player, I'm going to show them my jersey. But I saw [Buchnevich] going by and I was like 'dad, I have to take off my coat!' I had to flash the jersey to him because I knew he'd like it. It's his KHL jersey.
"Then I see - I have the people come over to say to come over," Lefkowitz added. "Buchnevich is there with his stick and gives it right to me. Then I look at it and it's autographed and he takes a picture with me. I'm crying.
"Tears of joy," he said. "They were tears of joy."

Lefkowitz's unique jersey certainly helped to catch Buchnevich's attention, as it's not every day he's seeing his KHL sweater being worn in the Big Apple.
"It stood out," Lefkowitz said. "I think he's going to realize that and say 'wow, that kid really cares! That's an amazing jersey. How does he have that?'"
Lefkowitz has big hopes for Buchnevich with the Rangers, as the youngster praised what the 22-year-old winger has brought to New York in his two seasons, and what lies ahead down the road.
"He's a great forward. When he came here from the KHL, he was really good," he said. "He has a great slap shot, a great one-timer on the power play. He can shoot, he can hit and I saw him drop the gloves against [Shayne] Gostisbehere and that was great. He's a great player. He's just an all-around great player that I can see growing to be during the rebuild, a great Ranger."
So after a night of interviews, Twitter posts and even an interview on ESPN's SportsCenter Thursday morning, where would he rank this experience?
"Top of my life," he said. "Top of my life."