In the latest videos from the Buffalo Sabres web-series, “Beyond Blue and Gold,” the team takes a look at the Ryder Kopacz story and the hard work put in by the team’s equipment managers.

Episode 8 tells the heartfelt story of one of Nathan Gerbe’s biggest (and possibly smallest) fans.

According to the team, “Nathan Gerbe’s journey to the NHL has been one of hard work and determination. But the friendship he has developed with four-year-old Ryder Kopacz is truly inspiring. Ryder was born with fibular hemimelia in his right leg, but has not let it get in the way of his love for the Sabres and Gerbe. Watch as Kopacz and his family travel to Chicago to be fitted for a special prosthetic leg that allows him to skate, and then see him test it out on the ice at First Niagara Center under the watchful eye of his hero Gerbe.”

Take a look at “Beyond Blue and Gold: Episode 8” below:

Episode nine in the series takes a look at all the preparation put in by the team’s equipment managers to make sure the players are at their best.

According to the team, “From sharpening skates to ordering sticks, the job of the equipment manager is never done. Beyond Blue & Gold goes behind the scenes to witness what the keeper of the equipment deal with on a daily basis.”

Watch “Beyond Blue and Gold: Episode 9” below:

Thumbnail courtesy of Youtube.