A profound sense of loss at the sixth annual Skatin' for Leighton
Also inside: Scott Wedgewood's opportunity, a glance at the NHL's rebuilds and the futures of Shane Doan, John Chayka, Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid
As I do every year, I attended the sixth annual Skatin’ for Leighton at Salt River Fields on Sunday.
Leighton’s parents, Carly and Jeremy, were as gracious as ever with their time, talking to a pair of my students at Cronkite for stories they were writing. ASU hockey players Logan Morrell, Lincoln Kuehne and Ben Kevan also spoke, and that goes double for the tireless Lyndsey Fry, who somehow found time to jump in a dunk tank and to have her pony tail cut to help kids in need through Locks of Love, a nonprofit that provides free hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term hair loss, whether from cancer treatment, alopecia, or severe burns.
It was a postcard-perfect day to celebrate the growth of girls hockey in Arizona and, more importantly, to celebrate Leighton’s legacy. But when I left the event, I was also reminded of how much this hockey community has lost.