As NHL players ramp up their offseason workouts in preparation for the upcoming season, one pro camp just outside of Vancouver, B.C. is making it a well worthy cause.
The inaugural All Heart Pre-Season Pro Camp at Planet Ice in Delta, B.C., kicked off earlier this week with proceeds going towards the Craig Cunningham All Heart Foundation.
Cunningham, now a scout with the Arizona Coyotes, had his hockey career come to an abrupt end after doctors were had to remove his left leg after undergoing acute cardiac arrest with the Tucson Roadrunners, the Coyotes AHL affiliate, during a game in November of 2016.
The money made from the event will help the top doctors in the world trying to find a way to spot and prevent sudden cardiac arrest. Cunningham is working exclusively with Dr. Zain Khalpey, a cardiothoracic surgeon who was instrumental in helping him recover.
Just over 30 professional players were on hand to support the foundation, including several members of the Vancouver Canucks and B.C. born players.
Alex Edler, Brandon Sutter, Troy Stecher, Loui Eriksson, Sam Gagner, Martin Jones, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Brenden Dillion, Morgan Rielly, Brendan Gallagher, Colton Sissons, Sam Reinhart and Brad Hunt are just some of the pros participating in the camp. Canucks assistant coach Newell Brown is running the camp along with coaches Yogi Svejkovsky and Derek Popke.
Earlier this summer, Craig’s brother, Ryan, biked 1,600 miles from Tucson, Arizona to British Columbia to raise money for the foundation.
If you haven’t seen the TSN Original narrated by Ray Ferraro and would like to get a better understanding of Cunningham's background and what he battled through, we recommend watching it.
If you’d like to donate to Craig’s cause, you can do so by clicking on the link below. The foundation aims at creating several innovative collaborations with smartwatch screening through apps, fingerstick blood screen tests for high-performance athletes, and specialized automated external defibrillators that can send warning signs for people prone to suffering from SCA (sudden cardiac arrest).
