Students at an elementary school were given a special surprise from Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman Tuesday afternoon. He took the opportunity to read some of the children’s books he’s written himself to students at St. Elizabeth Catholic Elementary School. Hyman says while his love for hockey always came first, reading and writing has always been a passion of his since he was a kid. While he’s used to excitement when meeting fans, the player says today felt different. “Today was pretty special, the kids were extremely loud and excited and it was really exciting to see,” Hyman said. Hyman has written The Bambino and Me, Hockey Hero and The Magician’s Secret. Hyman hopes to share his love of literature to students by reading to them, especially with the rise of technology and social media. “It’s such an important life skill, you need to be able to read, you need to be able to write and you need to be able to use your imagination and a lot of that comes from reading and writing and thinking of ways to be creative,” Hyman said. Grade 5 student Lian David says she was “very, very excited” to see Hyman walk into the gymnasium to surprise her and her classmates. “It was very nice and cool and all about hockey and inspiring. Maybe I could try hockey,” she said. Grade 4 student Brian Suda is another Oilers fan and says it was “super awesome” to see Hyman. St. Elizabeth principal Delia de Sousa says it was many students’ first time meeting an Edmonton Oiler and Hyman is a great mentor for students. “That love for reading and for writing and maybe something that students can see themselves as authors,” de Sousa said. The forward says he was happy to see kids raise their hands when he asked if anyone had read his book before. “To see them kind of view me as the author and not just a hockey player, that was pretty cool.” Students were able to walk away with a book signed by Hyman.
