TAMPA, Fla. — It was a day of fishing and fundraising for the Tampa Bay Lighting.
“We get away from the rink for a little bit,” Bolts captain Victor Hedman said. “This has been a staple in our schedule for many, many years. Such a great job. Pediatric cancer is something that is terrible. Whatever we can do to raise some money and awareness is a great feeling for us.”
For the seventh year, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper held his annual charity fundraiser, ‘Coop’s Catch for Kids.’
“It’s a special day for me personally,” Cooper said. “This was a vision eight years ago, and now it’s turned into something bigger and better than I ever thought it could be. The smiles we put on kids’ faces, their families, it makes everything worth it.”
The catch-and-release tournament raises thousands of dollars for pediatric cancer research.
It helps kids like 18-year-old Weston Hermann, who has dealt with brain tumors since he was seven years old.
“It’s been a dream come true with these guys,” Hermann said. “Just seeing them. Seeing that they are here just shows who they are. A lot of people just look at them as just NHL players, famous people, and they don’t care about others. Them being here and showing support means a lot to me and other people fighting.”
For the second straight year, Cooper has reeled in the big one, ‘The Great One,’ the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, Wayne Gretzky.
“I’m not a great fisherman, let me make that perfectly clear. But I’m better than he is,” Gretzky said. “It’s not so much about the fishing. It’s about getting together and the camaraderie and seeing the smiles on the kid's faces.”
“There’s been some struggles along the way,” Cooper said. “We’ve lost some beautiful kids that make the memory of this, the goal of this event stay strong.”
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