Swedish hockey star to take girl with Down Syndrome to prom

Sofie Ruther from Sweden is going to have the coolest date to prom in her class.

Mathias Tjärnqvist, who played 173 NHL games between the Dallas Stars and Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes organization is set to take Ruther, who has Down Syndrome, to her prom.

Tjärnqvist is supposed to dress up in a matching outfit to Ruther’s and pick her up in a convertible. Ruther lives in Hjärnarp.

The 36-year-old Tjärnqvist also played 394 games in the Swedish Hockey League, and the story in The Local, a Swedish publication, calls him “a former international hockey star who lives in her home town.”

The date was arrange by Sofie’s father Joakim who knew Tjärnqvist when Sofie Ruther was a child.

Via The Local

"It's always special going to the prom but to be escorted by a star makes it even more special," Ruther told The Local.

"Mathias and Sofie first met when she was five, now they say hi when they meet on the street," he continued, explaining that he was so grateful for the player's help that he wanted him to win a "Nobel Prize for kindness".

Said Tjärnqvist in the story "To experience the prom again is fantastic fun, there was no doubt [in my mind] when I was asked," Tjärnqvist told regional newspaper Helsingborgs Dagblad (HD)

The piece said it “was among the most read stories in Sweden…”

Really nice stuff from Tjärnqvist on this.

- - - - - - -

Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY