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Bryan Rust's heartwarming actions after every home game inspired Ducks' Leo Carlsson to do the same
Photo credit: Edit from The Hockey News
After every single home game, Bryan Rust hosts a meet-and-greet with young people for a good cause, which has inspired Leo Carlsson to do the same in Anaheim.
The impact Bryan Rust is having on young people who stutter continues to grow and extends way beyond Pittsburgh.
What Bryan Rust does after each and every home game
After every home game, Rust sits down with kids and families from the Friends community. Those moments made such an impact that Ducks forward Leo Carlsson started a similar program in Anaheim, inspired by Rust.
"I think for me, I'm really proud of that," Rust said. "It's something that was kind of my goal through this, to hopefully get a few more conversations started and a few more people getting involved. I think just seeing him try and take the reins on that as well is really cool, especially because he is still such a young guy. He's going to go do it for a really long time. So, I think hopefully keep getting bigger and bigger."
Their relationship began before Anaheim selected Carlsson second overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, when Rust spoke with him about navigating the pressure and media attention that comes along with joining the NHL as a top Swedish prospect.
Last season in Anaheim, both players, after Pittsburgh's visit, connected with a young Ducks fan, Liam Niel. An injury had kept Rust out of a 5-1 loss, yet he walked into the Ducks' room to join Carlsson and spend time with Liam.
Growing up with a stutter, the classroom challenges and learning to build confidence, all subjects the trio had in common, were discussed.
Why Bryan Rust ended up accepting and not being bothered by his stuttering anymore
Rust explained how he at first tried to remain silent in class until his older brother Matt Rust, who also stuttered, encouraged him to embrace it. He had some tough moments and a few bullies, but Matt stepped in to help him stay resilient.
Growing up, Bryan watched Matt work through speech therapy and picked up techniques that later helped him manage his own stutter.
"I wasn't going to be the guy who was going to be different," Rust said. "I wasn't going to let that define me as oh, this guy's not going to do media because of this. No. He's just going to be one of the guys. And I think that went a long way. To me, just keep doing it. I think it's just like anything else in your life. If you don't practice it, you're not going to get better."
He never expected to pursue a career where he'd be interviewed constantly on camera, but he powered through those early hurdles at Notre Dame and into his pro run with the Penguins.
Rust has never let his stutter define him. As a team leader, he shouldered more media duties, hoping his example would give confidence to the kids he met through Friends.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 9 | 93 ANSWERS Bryan Rust's heartwarming actions after every home game inspired Ducks' Leo Carlsson to do the same Are you impressed with Bryan Rust's initiative? | ||
| Yes | 85 | 91.4 % |
| No | 8 | 8.6 % |
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