The morning after thousands of teddy bears rained from the sky at the Saddledome, players from the Calgary Hitmen were able to see first-hand the impact of Sunday’s teddy bear toss.

“When we can give back to the community, that’s pretty special for us, especially at a place like this,” captain Matt MacKenzie said about the Alberta Children’s Hospital.

“A lot of them are pretty shy, but you can see how happy they are when they get the bears so it makes us feel good.”

Trevor Grant said when his two-year-old son Easton was given a teddy bear, he had trouble fighting back his emotions. “(Easton has) had a rough life so it’s really neat to see this happen,” said Grant.

Easton’s mom, Jalene Grant, said they come to the hospital every week and having the Hitmen hand Easton a teddy bear made their day a little brighter. “It just puts a smile on their face, everything they have to go through. To be able to take five minutes and do that is pretty awesome.”