Toronto Maple Leafs, Hollywood stars wish 11-year-old boy happy birthday after no one shows up to his party

Rudi Schuller

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Toronto Maple Leafs, Hollywood stars wish 11-year-old boy happy birthday after no one shows up to his party image

Sometimes the Internet can be a wonderful place.

The online community came together Sunday after an early-morning Twitter post from a dad featuring a photo of his son standing alone behind a birthday cake. Twitter user Jason Foster (@NLWildlife) uploaded a picture of 11-year-old Kade, outfitted in a Toronto Maple Leafs shirt, smiling next a table featuring a cake decorated with a photo of Leafs stars John Tavares and Mitch Marner.

Foster tagged the two hockey players in the Tweet, along with their team, and included the caption: "My son Kade had his 11th birthday party last night. None of his invited friends came. That hurt. I’m asking my Twitter friends to show him some love today. If you have a minute, please send him a birthday wish."

It didn't take long for the Tweet to go viral. As of Sunday afternoon it had been retweeted nearly 6,000 times and received over 35,000 "likes."

Best of all, the post quickly reached the Toronto Maple Leafs themselves, who responded with a birthday wish for Kade.

By midday, the subjects depicted on the cake, Marner and Tavares, each wrote their own personalized message to the boy. Marner tweeted that the team has "a surprise gift" for Kade, while Tavares wrote that he and his teammates "look forward to celebrating with" the young Leafs fan.

Much of the hockey world followed suit, with the likes of Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, Zack Hyman, John Scott, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Newfoundland Growlers, the NWHL, the Buffalo Beauts and many more from the community sending their birthday wishes to Kade. And while the hockey community is tight-knit, word of Foster's tweet spread throughout the online universe at large and several other well-known names from outside the arena joined the chorus.

Canadian talk show host and YouTuber Lilly Singh lent her support, with an added "go Leafs gooooo" for good measure. Reality TV star "Dog the Bounty Hunter" responded with an enthusiastic "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!"

Even Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, chimed in to wish Kade "the happiest of birthdays!"

Jason Foster obviously couldn't have foreseen the response to his early-morning Tweet, and he took to Twitter later Sunday to communicate his appreciation.

"We can’t comprehend what has happened today," Foster wrote. "Kade and the rest of us are just amazed. To EVERYONE who sent Kade a message - thank you from the bottom of our hearts. He is an amazing son and he will never forget this day."

Rudi Schuller