The NHL has been increasingly supportive of the LGBTQ community. Last year, after the You Can Play project was launched, dozens of players, coaches, and more recorded messages for the campaign that's "dedicated to the eradication of homophobia in sports."

Yesterday canucks.nhl.com posted this heartwarming story about 16-year-old Cory Oskam, who "recently shared the ice with his idol Cory Schneider, whom he named himself after upon transitioning from female to male."

When Nicole Oskam took her two-year-old daughter Anneke shopping for big girl underwear 14 years ago, pink was out, as were unicorns and Strawberry Shortcake. Anneke wanted Superman underwear and wasn’t leaving the store without them.

Anneke, fantastic taste in superhero gitch and all, was a gender nonconforming child from a very young age, according to Nicole, who assumed her daughter was a tomboy.

Fast-forward from the beginning of Anneke’s journey to where she is today and, well, a lot has changed.

For starters, Anneke is now Cory, a 16-year-old male currently blissfully residing on cloud nine after sharing the ice at Rogers Arena with Vancouver Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider.

Yes, the most recent chapter to Cory’s story had him standing beside his hero, after whom he renamed himself upon making the transition to become male, as part of Minor Hockey Week when the Canucks hosted the Calgary Flames on January 23rd.

Read the whole story here. It's pretty wonderful.

(And sorry for any typos—my eyes are watering and I can't see all that well. I must've gotten something in my eye. An eyelash or a piece of dust or something. *sniff*)