September 23, 1998
Yzerman requests Sincic artwork
By Garret Leiva
Herald staff writer
Mike Sincic leaned against the ice arena boards outside the Red Wings locker room hoping to steady his nerves. Excited hands clutched the piece of paper in sweaty palms in anticipation; this was the five minutes he had waited a whole year for.
Finally, the team's captain, Steve Yzerman entered the Centre Ice arena and stood right in front of the 16-year-old Acme Township resident. But Sincic didn't want an autograph or a hockey stick, he just wanted a chance to say thanks.
Last Thursday, with the help of staff at Centre Ice, Sincic got that chance as he presented Yzerman with an original watercolor painting of Grand Traverse Bay he created especially for the Red Wing's center.
"The main thing was that I wanted to thank the team and give Steve Yzerman the picture myself instead of trying to send it through the mail," said Sincic, who gave Yzerman his gift during the Red Wing's week-long training camp in Traverse City.
While some might find it amazing that this St. Francis High School junior was able to meet last year's National Hockey League's MVP face-to-face, perhaps more incredible is the fact that Sincic was simply alive to do so.
Diagnosed with a brain tumor three years ago, Sincic was told that he had only weeks to live. Willing to fight the odds, Sincic's parents took their son to a specialist in New York who performed surgery on the young boy.
It was while recovering in the hospital that Sincic started collecting pictures and autographs from television personalities and sports stars, especially from his favorite team - the Red Wings. Along with the dozens of T-shirts, books and piles of autographed pucks and pictures, Sincic said he received letters and cards from several players, including Yzerman.
"Even after my surgery every once and a while I would get a letter from one of the players. The latest one was a nice, long letter from Steve Yzerman asking me how I was feeling and that he was hoping to see me at training camp. He also said he had heard that I painted - which I don't know how he knew - and he asked me if he could have one of my paintings," said Sincic, who, despite his limited vision, has been painting landscape and portrait watercolors for the past two years.
For Sincic, the request was a unique opportunity that brought together his two greatest passions: art and hockey. While the physical nature of hockey prevents Sincic from playing, that doesn't mean he's given up on the game he took up at age 5.
"Every opportunity I have, I'm at the rink. This summer, during the hockey camps, I would have my mom drop me off in the morning and stay until 8 o'clock at night," said Sincic, who also brought along a sketchpad to Centre Ice hockey arena.
While determination and inspiration keeps his brush strokes fluid and his colors bold, the same mind-set now drives Sincic to lace up the skates once again.
"Over the summer it really started to get to me seeing those kids on the ice and not me," Sincic noted. "I called my dad and said, 'I need to find a pair of skates because I've got to get back on the ice again.'"