Hockey Fights Cancer and Stick it to Cancer charities always feature prominently around the start of the season, but for the Stockton Heat and Adam Ollas-Mattsson in particular, it took on a whole other meaning.
When the Flames drafted Ollas-Mattsson back in 2014, we soon learned that cancer had affected his life in a big way: his mom had battled breast cancer twice in her life, eventually succumbing to the disease when he was a teenager.
On Saturday, the Heat had their Stick it to Cancer night, raising money for the St. Joseph’s Foundation by auctioning off their jerseys.
When it came to Ollas-Mattsson’s jersey, his teammates had something special planned:
Both Ollas-Mattsson and Curtis Lazar were asked about the gesture following the game.
Via the Heat, Ollas-Mattsson at first didn’t realize what his teammates were doing, but it turned into a great moment:
I had no idea until the bidding started and the guys started saying numbers. I was wondering what was going on and then it dawned on me. It was a class act of the boys. I have a lot of respect for these guys and it really means a lot to me.
Lazar, meanwhile, explained how the moment came together:
It just shows that hockey is just a game. The fact that we were able to get a lot of people together to raise money for a good cause because whether you like it or not, cancer affects everybody and that is just the way it is. It is a crappy part of life and with Adam’s situation loosing his mom and stuff… I can’t relate to that, but I am sure it is not easy. Mangiapane gave his letter to Adam tonight and we bought the jersey for him as a little keepsake.