Ottawa Senators make dream come true, sign 14-year old

The Ottawa Senators make dream come true by signing 14-year-old Jonathan Pitre, who has a rare genetic condition, to their pro scouting department.

The press release from the Ottawa Senators arrived without any fanfare. "Senators add Jonathan Pitre to scouting staff" was the headline. It's the sort of info that typically merits a quick glance and is quickly filed away.

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But Pitre is far from typical. The 14-year-old will only be with the club for one day and will only work one game, tonight's contest against the Nashville Predators at the Canadian Tire Centre. He suffers from a mercifully rare genetic disorder known at Epidermolysis bullosa. It's one of the most painful afflictions known to medicine, where even the slightest friction against the skin causes it to blister and tear open. In the most severe cases, like the one that afflicts Jonathan, it causes almost constant pain and requires the administration of methadone simply to survive a night of sleep.

Pitre came to the attention of the team after he revealed to the Ottawa Citizen that it was his dream to be a hockey scout. It took the Sens less than a month to make that dream come true.

Beyond learning how to scout from Ottawa's assistant GM Pierre Dorion, Pitre will get a personal tour of the arena and meet a few special guests.

Good on the Sens, and our best wishes to Jonathan. Here's hoping it's the best night of his life.