GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes will take a unprecedented step earlier than Saturday’s sport in opposition to St. Louis by inducting Leighton Accardo into their ring of honor.
Accardo, who left a deep imprint on the group as a former member of the Arizona Kachinas youth hockey program, died of most cancers on Nov. 24 on the age of 9.
The inspirational lady with the tenacity of a hockey participant will turn into the primary particular person in NHL historical past who’s not a former participant, coach, normal supervisor or broadcaster to be inducted right into a workforce’s ring of honor.
Her title will be part of Wayne Gretzky, Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick, Teppo Numminen, Dale Hawerchuk, Thomas Steen and Bobby Hull inside Gila River Enviornment.
Accardo left an enduring impression on the group.
“She actually left the impression on us, not simply as somebody who cherished hockey, however as somebody who actually captured the spirit of resiliency and of grit and of overcoming adversity within the face of an unimaginable problem,” Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez mentioned. “Her well-known saying was, ‘skate arduous, have enjoyable.’ And that is actually what we needed to proceed to do, to actually hold her in our reminiscences as a company.”
There is a connection each time an expert athlete meets a baby with most cancers. The encounters transfer the gamers, uplift the youngsters, but are sometimes transient.
Accardo’s effervescent spirit, her tenacity on the ice — and the whole lot in life — and that smile have been like an imprint on the soul of everybody she touched.
“She was simply that child within the rink that everyone knew as a result of she simply had this radiating positivity, bubbliness, no matter you wish to name it, all over the place she went,” mentioned Lyndsey Fry, the Coyotes’ director of exterior engagement and feminine hockey. “She was a memorable child.”
She had unusual grit at an early age, falling and crying throughout certainly one of her first occasions on the ice, but refusing to come back off. It carried her via her battle with most cancers.
Accardo was memorable.
“Individuals simply actually drew a lot from her in the way in which that she carried herself throughout her most cancers battle,” Fry mentioned. “I imply, like, that is one thing that adults cannot deal with, and she or he simply dealt with it with a lot grace, a lot positivity. She by no means needed anybody to really feel sorry for her.”
Accardo’s father, Jeremy, performed eight seasons within the main leagues and is the New York Mets’ assistant pitching coach. The athletic potential was handed right down to Leighton, who excelled at hockey, baseball — no matter she tried.
An undercurrent of persistence thrust it ahead.
Fry noticed it on the clinic and thru the Arizona Kachinas youth hockey program.
Coyotes gamers and coaches turned enamored of Accardo when she turned their ambassador for Hockey Fights Most cancers Nights. It was strengthened by quite a few interactions, together with visits to her hospital room.
“We knew, clearly, how particular Leighton was and what an incredible soul she was,” Accardo’s mom, Carly, mentioned via tears. “And for them to see it, too, simply made us actually proud. They linked together with her on such a private and completely different degree.”
The information of Accardo’s dying on Nov. 24 despatched a bolt of unhappiness throughout Phoenix and the hockey world.
The Coyotes made good on their promise to go to, enjoying a sport of road hockey exterior the household’s house in her honor the day she handed. Messages of condolence and tributes poured in from all corners.
Fry referred to as her boss. She had deliberate to rollerblade 96 miles to boost cash for the Phoenix Kids’s Hospital or another place for sick children.
As soon as Accardo died, “Skatin’ for Leighton” shifted focus. The cash would go towards a scholarship in Accardo’s title to help women thinking about enjoying hockey in Arizona.
Fry set out on Feb. 21 from Phoenix Kids’s Hospital and hit all seven Phoenix-area ice rinks earlier than ending up at Gila River Enviornment.
Fry, a former hockey participant, skated for greater than 14 hours, her ft and ankles throbbing, hips burning. She saved pushing via, finishing a journey that is raised greater than $100,000 for the Leighton Accardo Scholarship Fund.
“I saved telling myself all through the entire thing, on the finish of the day, it was nothing,” mentioned Fry, who additionally serves because the Coyotes’ radio analyst. “I imply, even on the time, it was getting arduous and it might damage my hips, retired or no matter. I simply remind myself that is nothing in comparison with what Leighton needed to undergo.”
The Coyotes signed Accardo to a contract in 2019, and gamers have worn “LA49” decals on their helmet this season. They’re going to put on “Leighton 49” warm-up jerseys earlier than Saturday’s sport that will probably be auctioned off, the proceeds going to her scholarship fund.
The ring of honor ceremony will cement her place throughout the group, the reminiscence of a memorable lady residing on endlessly.
The Related Press contributed to this report.