The world of hockey was shaken yesterday, the news came out in late afternoon that young Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom is suffering from Ewing’s sarcoma or in other words, a type of cancer that forms in the bones or soft tissue. Needless to say that he is not expected to return this season. The former fifth round pick is 23 years old and in his third season with the Flyers. He had gathered 18 points in 30 games this season and was on his way to his best offensive year so far. Of course, none of that matters now, the youngster will have to put all of his energy into fighting for his life. Ewing’s sarcoma is not a very common cancer, but it can still be treated. According to the American Cancer society, the 5 years survival rate for patients with localized sarcoma is 70% while that of those with metastatic disease have a 15 to 30% survival rate. At this stage, it is unknown whether or not Lindblom’s is metastatic but planet hockey is truly hoping it isn’t.
Last night, my whole Twitter feed was about Lindblom and I couldn’t help but think back to that morning of September 2001 when the front page of the Journal de Québec made me choke on my orange juice. It wasn’t that type of cancer that affected Koivu but rather Burkitt’s lymphoma a non hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Canadiens’ then captain would go on to miss most of the season and return in April 2002 to thunderous applause at the Bell Centre. To this day, that remains one one my most beautiful hockey memory, not only the amount of applause but how choked up by emotion Koivu was and the respect also showed by the opponents that night, the Ottawa Senators. I still cannot watch this video without getting goosebumps.
Koivu wasn’t the first hockey player cherished in Québec to be struck by cancer, in January 1993 Mario Lemieux announced that he suffered from Hogkin’s lymphoma. He had to undergo radiation treatment and missed only 2 months before returning to the ice and still managing to win the scoring title that season.
Phil Kessel also had a cancer scare at the ripe old age of 19 years old. Thankfully for him, his testicular cancer was confined to his right testicle and after it was removed, he was given the all clear. All that to say that cancer is more and more frequent not only in society but in the hockey world. Cancer strikes no matter who you are, how much money you have or how in shape you are. Worst, it’s kind of a silent killer, it can grow undetected until you’re too far gone and by then, there’s nothing that can be done. I truly hope that Lindblom’s was detected early, I’ve had people close to me diagnosed with cancer and told that they were already at stage 4 and that not much could be done. Hopefully, this is not the case for the young forward and in this day and age, he won’t be short of support and positive thinking. While social media can no doubt be a pain for professional athletes with hassling comments and trolls, it’s absolutely beautiful to see all the well wishers on Twitter right now and the #OskarStrong hashtag trending. Chin up Oskar, the hockey world is fighting with you and we're all waiting to welcome you back with a hero's welcome, just like we gave Koivu all those years ago.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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