DANVILLE, IL – Imagine a guy who’s 3 feet tall and tougher than nails; a guy that can capture the hearts of the ladies and earn the respect of the roughest hockey player. There is such a person. He’s known as Tanner Man.
Tanner Huarez is a hockey-loving kindergartener from Westville, IL. He plays team T-ball and basketball, runs, and swims. Last January he was diagnosed at the age of four with Leukemia. Looking over his photos of the past year you’d think Tanner was a kid in cross training rather than someone battling a major illness. His vitality and spunk are something of a local legend.
While chemo might drop a normal person right into bed, Tanner just pushes through like a triathlete. Tanner’s mother Beth recalled a particular moment from last May that summed up her son’s spirit.
“Tanner man made it to his t-ball game 
tonight after treatment. He is seriously my little superhero,” she said. “I cannot get over his strength. He is pretty darn amazing.”
Immediately upon his diagnosis a campaign began called “Team Tanner” that has grown into a network of friends, companies, teams, even a military unit. And then there’s a very special friend – goaltender Jo St. Pierre.
St. Pierre met this amazing little guy while he was the netminder for last season’s Danville Dashers. When the team participated in a fundraiser for Tanner, they forged a new and very special friendship. Now Jo is with the Watertown Wolves, and that team has gotten on board for the cause. When Danville met Watertown on the ice at Palmer Arena in Danville on Jan 9, Jo introduced his new Team Tanner helmet.
“About a year ago I was privileged to meet Tanner,” St. Pierre told ProHockeyNews following the game. “After learning about his brave battle with Leukemia, Tanner quickly became an inspiration and a hero. It is an honor for me to represent Team Tanner with a logo on my helmet! He saw it for the first time tonight.”
St. Pierre and the other players who have meant so much to Tanner have no doubt been an influence on the young child’s incredible fortitude.
“Jo’s support has meant the world to us this past year,” Beth related. “His helmet is amazing and when I first saw it, it brought tears to my eyes. Just knowing that he would be representing Tanner man on the ice everywhere he plays is just unbelievable and so cool. We are very thankful!”
And for guys like Jo St. Pierre, so are we.
Photos courtesy of Ellen Deluca Photography, Jo St. Pierre, and Team Tanner
Follow the author on Twitter @RonnaReporter
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