Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dalton Prout will live forever.

The 24-year-old sent Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic to the ice with one punch on Nov. 21, and Prout's been receiving thank you letters from across North America, shaking hands with strangers and kissing babies ever since.

A night later in Philadelphia, Prout was spoken to by two men who never give him the time of day, and they're conversations he'll never forget, writes The Province's Jason Botchford.

"The refs never talk to me," Prout said. "I don't wear a letter. But before the game, a ref came up to me and said 'Good job, last night.'

"Later," Prout added, "the shorter ref came up and said 'Nice right.'"

The conversations confirmed what most people in hockey suspected: even the referees loathe Lucic.

"I can't help but smile when I think about that game," Proud said.

That makes all of us.

You can watch video of the incident, and read comments from Lucic, below.