Hockey Fights Cancer and Movember: Flyers using mustaches to bring cancer awareness
As we get towards the end of November and into December, we saw the mustaches come out and the beards getting longer. It’s all a part of “No Shave November” which is an initiative to spark conversation and raise awareness for cancer. It also ties into Hockey Fights Cancer month around the NHL as each team hosts one throughout the month. The Flyers did that when they took on the Calgary Flames.
Hockey Fights Cancer has held a special meaning to the Flyers since Oskar Lindblom was a part of the organization. He had been diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma in December 2019. Both Ivan Provorov and Kevin Hayes talked about the impact it has had on the room and how this is just one of the ways that they are able to spark a conversation on something that affects everyone around the world.
Rasmus Ristolainen wasn’t on the Flyers when Lindblom was diagnosed, but he did spend one season with him. He could easily tell how much this month meant to the locker room, even after Lindblom’s departure.
“I noticed it last year too and this year. A little more special here and when you go to the rink, you see the fans. And last year when Oskar was here, how much it meant to him and for the guys and for the fans. It is a little more special here.”
It holds even more meaning to Kevin Hayes, who has had cancer hit both his mother and father. So everything the NHL does to bring awareness can go a long way in the end.
“I can almost guarantee that everyone in this league has been affected by it to some certain degree. It’s a small little thing the NHL does with the jerseys and I think it goes a long way. Everyone knows it’s a horrible disease, it doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. For me, it hits home a little but because both my parents had it. I think it’s a really cool situation that the NHL does that brings awarenesss and really try their hardest to make sure fans of the league know that the NHL cares about it and do their best to shed light on it.”
Scott Laughton is another player that has had cancer hit close to home as well. He has lost both of his grandparents to it, one of which happened this past summer. So it’s something you want to be able to do to show your support and keep a conversation going.
“I think everyone’s been affected with cancer with either their family or friends or someone close to them. It’s something that I’ve always held pretty close to me. I lost both my grandparents to cancer, one this summer actually, so it’s something that’s very close to me and something you wanna do.”
The Flyers have also seen other teams hold their own HFC nights, one of which was when they faced the Montreal Canadiens. It was a touching evening as each player was called to the bench to escort a young child affected by cancer onto the ice. The Canadiens dedicated that night to the children of Leucan, an association that has spent over 40 years promoting the recovery and well-being of kids affected by cancer and support for their families as well.
It included a league-wide initiative in which teams around the league held a moment of silence prior to the start of play. It was Montreal in particular that John Tortorella thought was very well done.
“Montreal was very touching to be as far as how they did it. Starting players were getting the kids to come out on the ice. I thought it was very well done. Other places too, but that one really hit home with me.”
Best and Worst Mustaches on the Flyers
In raising awareness and sparking a conversation, we do have the opportunity to find out which players look best with facial hair and which ones need to break the razor out immediately. It gives the Flyers the chance to do what every player loves to do and that is trash-talking their own teammates. While picking the players who looked best was a bit more difficult, things were pretty easy when it came to who looked the worst.
“I think James van Riemsdyk has a pretty tough muzzy too. He showed up with one today. He’s looking like an officer of the law.” Zack MacEwen said. Noah Cates, who was sitting next to MacEwen at the time, also agreed.
Kieffer Bellows had similar feelings about van Riemsdyk but did give him credit for giving it a shot. He, of course, gave a little jab to Cates as well. Bellows also didn’t necessarily think anyone looked the worst and mentioned that those who knew they couldn’t grow one, made the decision not to do it. So a little bit of a diplomatic answer from a player who hasn’t been around the Flyers locker room for a long time. Give him a bit more time, though.
“Reemer’s is a little tough. I give him credit for trying, but it’s tough. People probably say the same thing about my facial hair. But I’m still better than Catesy.”
And there are others who will be shaving it once the month comes to an end, but not necessarily because they don’t like it themselves. Sometimes it’s the family members that have to step in and be brutally honest. That was the case with Morgan Frost. Of those who were asked, Frost actually was said to have one of the better mustaches on the team.
And while it’s something that he agreed makes him look a little bit older, it’s his mom that is ready to see it go. So come the end, Frost has said that he will take it down quite a bit. He did joke that maybe he was one of the worst on the team. And for him in general, sometimes it’s just a case of laziness when it comes to growing it out at any time of the year.
“My mom doesn’t like it, I can tell you that…I actually saw her in Montreal and she was like ‘it’s getting to be a little much.'”
Frost actually did end up shaving it down before the month ended, as he decided enough was enough. He isn’t the type of guy who enjoys trimming the beard so he went with a full shave to bring back, as his stall mate Max Willman said, “the baby face.” So while some credited him with the best, a few said it no longer counts because he shaved it off early.
Others around the room that ended up drawing praise included MacEwen, who Provorov mentioned has been growing it for the last two years or so. And after Cates decided to shave down to the mustache, MacEwen did say he moved up the list of the best around the room. But he wasn’t willing to give him the title.
Scott Laughton was going to throw himself under the bus as one of the worst. He then decided to jokingly throw a little shade at Cates, however, he did compliment him in the end.
“I’d throw myself under…maybe Catesy, f— Catesy. Yeah, yeah Catesy, we’ll throw him under the bus. But he does have a nice muzzy too.”
Kevin Hayes drew a lot of praise, though Laughton did mention he could only grow it up top and not around the sides. Hayes felt this was actually the first time that he’s been able to get a good one going.
“Honestly this is probably the first time it’s been good. Before it was…I never really thought about it, I never really did it because I couldn’t grow a good mustache. I feel like my time has come.”
And of course, it wouldn’t be Kevin Hayes if he didn’t have a little trash talk about who had the worst in the room. And he brought up someone that no one else around the locker room mentioned. And that was Carter Hart. While Hayes did give him credit for being willing to do it, it just wasn’t a good look for him.
“Hartsy usually can’t grow one so this is the best one that he’s had…Hartsy probably should’ve never did it to begin with but he stuck to it so kudos to him. His didn’t actually come out too bad but at the beginning it was bad.”
With the calendar ready to turn to December, the razors will be coming out for most of these players. But the conversation never ends as cancer has clearly affected this locker room both in the hockey world and outside of it as well. This month was just one way for them to be able to keep the conversation going.