Hockey Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk was known for battling for his teammates, but the Barrie Colts head coach now has an organization and city rallying around him as he fights stomach cancer.
When it was announced on Sept. 3 that Hawerchuk was taking a leave of absence from the OHL team for unspecified health reasons, many were left wondering what was wrong with the team’s longest-serving head coach, who joined the franchise in 2010.
When news broke on Oct. 21 that the 56-year-old was battling stomach cancer, the OHL organization got to work on how to help out.
A GoFundMe page was started on Oct. 31 with a target of $5,000 and currently sits at more than $2,000.
Colts media relations manager Michael Raskin told BarrieToday that the team's office employees were looking for ways to help the organization’s longtime coach and the current month was a perfect fit for the cause.
“With everyone knowing about Dale (and his illness), we decided it would be better to do a Movember thing, but donate to battling stomach cancer rather than prostate cancer,” Raskin said. “Both are great causes, but the stomach cancer campaign is obviously hitting home for everyone in the organization."
Movember is a fundraising campaign that sees men shave their faces clean on the last day of October and let their moustache grow without interruption until the end of November.
Members of the Colts organization, including players, will be growing their moustaches to raise awareness and money for cancer research in support of Hawerchuk.
All donations will be going toward stomach cancer research.
“Dale is a legend, one of the best hockey players ever, but around here he is such a respected coach and man,” Raskin said.
“The players thought this was a great idea and are very happy to help support this cause," he added. "We will have some quotes from our players on social media that want to wish Dale the best and we want the fans to send well wishes, too.”
Hawerchuk signed a four-year extension with the club on April 6 of this year, but was replaced on an interim basis on Sept. 9 by former Windsor Spitfires owner and GM, Warren Rychel, who is also a former NHLer.
If you would like to make a donation to the Colts drive for stomach cancer research, you can head to the link and help out.
