"Coach Cal" Opens Hockey Night in Canada With Pre-Game Speech

Seven-year-old Callan “Coach Cal” Perks gets the spotlight for Hockey Night in Canada as he starred in the opening video on Saturday Night.

The show opened with a clip of Perks with his first viral speech then encouraging kids to remain strong during the temporary closure of hockey.

He previewed all the matchups of all the Canadian teams playing that night including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames and his favourite team, the Edmonton Oilers.

Perks also gave a motivating speech for the hosts of Hockey Night in Canada in Ron MacLean, Kelly Hrudey, Jennifer Botterill, David Amber and Elliotte Friedman.

Perks is a student at Lakefield District Public School. His favourite NHL team is the Edmonton Oilers with Connor McDavid as his favourite player. Photo courtesy of Lara Perks.

Perks first became viral from a pre-game speech with the Peterborough Petes on Nov. 28.

The second-grader has made appearances on other popular shows such as ABC’s Good Morning America, The Ellen Degeneres Show and Fox Los Angeles.

Perks wants to be an NHL player when he gets older. After his playing career, he wants to be a hockey coach or general manager.

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