KALAMAZOO, MI

— Colin, the Richland boy with disabilities whose

, had 2.1 million page "likes" prior to Tuesday night, but now, the 11 year old can say he's part of a professional hockey team as well.

Colin and his family were surprised by players, coaches and representatives of the

at Jaspare's Pizza Tuesday where the team presented him with a one-day contract that will allow him to join the team for their home game at Wings Stadium this Sunday.

"I was not expecting this," Colin said after arriving at the restaurant. "I knew we were going to the restaurant, but I was not expecting the rest."

K-Wings broadcaster and public relations director Mike Mudogno said the contract, which is the first one-day deal the team has ever offered, will give Colin the opportunity to get his own jersey, drop the game puck and even sit on the bench with the players, among other activities.

"I know he's popular, he has 2.5 million friends by now, but now he has a team as well," Modugno said.

Colin's mother, Jennifer, who asked that her last name not be used, first

for her son after she asked him what he wanted to do for his 11th birthday, which was on March 9. Colin, a 5th grader at Gull Lake Community Schools, said he didn't want a party because he didn't have any friends, his mother has said.

Since then, the page and story have taken off and even given the family a chance to be on "

." Jennifer said the family has received 78,000 pieces of mail for Colin as of last Monday and gifts are still being sent to two P.O. boxes the family has purchased.

"It's been just overwhelming," she said of the page, which was a secret to Colin until the family's "Good Morning America" visit on March 7 . "It's been hard to adjust to suddenly, accidentally being famous. I have a pretty wild imagination, but I couldn't expect this."

But, Jennifer said the best reward for her efforts has been seeing the growth in Colin, who she has previously said suffers from a sensory processing disorder and another disorder similar to Asperger syndrome which cause him to struggle with facial expressions, verbal cues and in some social situations.

"I have seen him in this last month blossom because he knows he has 2.1 million friends and that is something that nobody else has," Jennifer said. "His self-confidence has grown. It doesn't bother him that kids don't like him because he has 2.1 million friends."

Colin K-Wings game Sunday will be his first.

He talked with the players before eating about video games -- he owns three Nintendo systems and his favorite game series is the "Legend of Zelda" -- and said he was excited to be considered part of the team.

He said the attention he has received since learning of his birthday surprise has been "a little bit crazy and wild," adding that he is still opening new letters each day.

"Its been very heartwarming is what I would say," Colin said, pausing to think of the right word. "I just love that so many people did this."

K-Wings Head Coach Nick Bootland, who was joined by players Elgin Reid, Eric Kattelus and Sam Ftorek, said the team is also looking forward to hosting Colin this weekend.

"Obviously there are things that are much bigger than the game and if we can put a smile on a young guy's face that deals with a lot of adversity, we're excited about that opportunity," Bootland said.

Modugno said that as part of Colin's deal, he will also be named one of the stars of the game. The team usually names only three stars, but Colin will be honored as the fourth following Sunday's game.

"If our team does really bad, he may move up in the star standings, but that's our coaches' job to worry about that," Modugno said laughing.

Alex Mitchell covers county government and taxes for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Email him at amitche5@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.