These handmade friendship bracelets are connecting a Labrador girl to international hockey players

A Grade 8 girl from Labrador offered to trade friendship bracelets for pucks at the world juniors,and now has four of them.

Labrador U13 player traded friendship bracelets with players from Germany, Latvia and Switzerland

Heidi Atter CBC News Posted: Jan 05, 2023 10:29 AM EST | Last Updated: January 5, 2023

A girl holding eight hockey pucks sitting in a chair. — Rachel Parsons displays her custom-made bracelets along with the pucks she traded for during the 2023 world junior championship in Halifax. (Submitted by Jill Williams )

Rachel Parsons has been standing outside the rink glass at the World Junior Ice HockeyChampionships in Halifax, holding a sign with an offer: "Friendship Bracelet for a Puck?"

Players from multiple countries have taken her up on the offer and traded a puck for a handcrafted memento.

"I thought it would be a nice memory for her and for me too," said Switzerland forwardJeremy Prada.

"Your bracelet looks very beautiful. I wear it now all the time and I'm glad I did the trade."

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Two hands wrapped in colourful bracelets. — Rachel had hopes of getting a puck from the world juniors Her bracelets, made with thread, have drawn the attention of players from multiple countries. (Submitted by Jill Williams)

Rachel and her mother, Jill Williams, decided to travel to the world juniors from their home in Happy Valley-Goose Bay at the last minute. They've been attending every game possible since Dec. 27, Williams said.

Rachel was hoping to get a puck from the event and saw other children trading items, Williams said. So the two bought some thread and she started crafting.

A mother and daughter sit at a table used by TSN for broadcasts in a hockey rink. — For Rachel and her mother, Jill Williams, attending the world juniors has 'always been a dream.' (Submitted by Jill Williams)

She's now traded with Prada, Germanygoaltender Simon Wolf, Latvia forward Klavs Veinberg, Canada defenceman Ethan Del Mastro, Austria's Stefan Klassek, and the Czech Republic's MichaelSpacek.

"I guess you know, like I'm besties with half of Europe now, so that's pretty cool," Rachel said.

"During the game they have a big screen where they showed the players and you could see Wolf actually take off his glove and you could see the friendship bracelet on his wrist," Williams said. "She was absolutely thrilled."

Rachel's sign and bracelets started going viral on TikTok after another fan took a video. As of Thursday, the video had more than 400,000 views.

The attention from the sign has been "super-cool," Rachelsaid.As ahockey player herself, her mother said, Rachel has been invested in watching the tournament, but as a fan, "it's always been a dream."

"It's just been magical the entire trip," Williams said.

WATCH |Josh Roy leads Canada to win over United States, booking spot in gold medal game:

Josh Roy leads Canada to win over United States, booking spot in gold medal game

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Josh Roy's four point night included a pair of goals as Canada defeated United States 6-2, booking a spot in the gold medal game against Czechia.

With files from Labrador Morning

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