'He's one lucky kid': N.B. boy uses sweet sign to nab hockey souvenirs at World Juniors

Carter Buck made this clever sign to get several mementos during the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship games in Moncton, N.B. (International Ice Hockey Federation)

Most kids will settle for a puck, a program or maybe a T-shirt as a souvenir at a hockey game, but not Carter Buck.

The 12-year-old from Hillsborough, N.B., made a clever sign to get several mementos during the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship games in Moncton, N.B.

Carter collected five sticks -- three of them goalie sticks -- eight pucks, a referee’s whistle, dozens of signatures and countless memories that will last a lifetime. 

His sign read: “I'll trade you a chocolate bar for a puck or two for a stick. World Juniors Moncton.”

"You went to a game, you sat there, you had to try and talk to all the players and get them to read your sign," said Carter.

"Most of them wouldn't even look. You'd get the odd player who would look and they would either shake their head and say ‘no,’ or come back out with a different stick."

Carter's parents took turns bringing him to all the games at the Avenir Centre, but the sign was his idea. 

"I just saw a bunch of people trying to trade. They just had two chocolate bars and they were holding them up like that and they were just yelling, 'I'll trade you for a stick,' so I took the idea and I added a bit more to it and made it better," said Carter. 

He also got to meet players from four of the five teams in the Moncton pool, including the entire German and American squads.

One of his goalie sticks was signed by the entire United States team from the 2022 championship last year in Edmonton.

His mother, Amy LeBlanc, said all the players were very friendly. Some of them spent time with Carter after the games and shared popcorn while they talked hockey. 

"He's one lucky kid," laughed LeBlanc. "Very, very lucky. He has a horseshoe up his butt."

She thinks the whole thing is an amazing experience for her hockey-loving son. 

"After he got the first stick there was no stopping him," said Amy. "He was down there an hour before the games. He stayed after every game. He was going down in between the periods trying to get everybody before they came out. On-ice, off-ice, it didn't matter."

Carter said the players from Slovakia were particularly fond of Hershey bars, but very few took more than one sweet treat at a time. 

The plan is to get a case built in his room and hang everything up as an unforgettable souvenir of the tournament.