Panthers have Ronan Lougheed's back!

Wednesday, November 8, 2023
North Saanich, British Columbia

It was late in October when the Peninsula Panthers heard about local 11-year-old Ronan Lougheed and his battle with Burkitt Lymphoma, a type of cancer that typically affects children and occasionally adults. Ronan plays hockey in the local Peninsula Minor Hockey Association and his story touched the hearts of the Cats' Organization when hearing the news.  Panthers Owner Pete Zubersky spoke with Ronan's father Dave and he decided that it would be fitting that the Organization visited the youngster in Vancouver where he will quite likely be for the next six months. 

"I received a text message from Mike Brown who let me know about what Ronan and the Lougheed family was going through," said Zubersky.  "I spoke to Jason Fletcher who is our contact and Liaison with Peninsula Minor Hockey and he found out more details.  When I talked to Coach Tyler Stanton we decided that it would be great for the young fellow if we went over to Vancouver with his #15 jersey. We wanted to make this even more special but Dave let us know that it might be a bit early and the hospital staff felt it was ok if 3-4 guys maximum showed up.  Our entire team wanted to go and show the Lougheed's that we have their backs, but we trimmed down our plans after speaking with Dave."

Former PMHA players Julien Phillips, Malcolm Fletcher and Ethan Lingard and Stanton were slated to board the 9:00 am ferry this past Sunday headed over to Children's Hospital but the players wanted to do something a bit more for Ronan.  Lingard gathered short video clips from each player and put together a touching and supportive message to Ronan.

The visit on Sunday was under 30 minutes due to the fact that Ronan was extremely tired and feeling the effects of Chemotherapy treatments.  The four had a nice visit with Ronan and his mother Melanie, and then put some of their thoughts to paper on the trip home.

Stanton:
"With the pressures and demands of Junior Hockey it seems like we seldom talk about life away from the rink, the "bigger" things than hockey. Today went to show our Organization's support for the Lougheed's. Phillips, Lingard, Fletcher and myself, went over to BC Children's Hospital to see 11-year-old Ronan. While Ronan was tired, we felt it was still important that we went to visit him. Ronan has amazing aspirations of being a Panther one day and wearing the #15 in a Regular Season game. Our group came up with the idea of creating a video clip for the family; of the guys who could not make it over from our team.  And we gifted that to Ronan along with a team-signed #15 Lougheed Jersey. It was great to be able to see Ronan and Mom Melanie, even under these trying circumstances. Our entire Organization and community is standing Strong with Ronan, and we very much look forward to having him back in our community with us very soon" 

Phillips:
"It was something very important to me to be able to go and help somebody in our community in any way possible, going through something like that. It meant a lot to me." - JR

Fletcher:
"“Going to see Ronan today was incredible, he’s such a strong kid who is so brave. It was so uplifting to see a kid who’s going through a very hard time to have so much support from the whole hockey community. Truly an incredible day and experience. I will cherish today for the rest of my life. See you at the rink soon Ronan, keep fighting kid." - Sticky

Lingard:
"I thought it was good for us to go see Ronan. The hockey community is really a tight knit group and to go see a fan of the Panthers and fellow hockey player in the community who is going through some tough times right now, is something I’ll never forget. I’m really thankful to his family for letting us go see him." - Lingo

There is a Go Fund Me set up for Ronan and has approximately $4,000 to reach the initial target and can be accessed on the Internet for those interested in helping out the family for expenses they undoubtedly will be incurring over the next number of months.

The Panthers will be holding a special 50/50 next Friday night November 17th and are hopeful that a large and generous crowd will be in attendance for that game.  The video presented to Ronan will be played in the Arena before the puck drops.

The Panthers will have a big test this Friday evening in the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre when the Saanich Predators come in for their first visit of the season.  The puck is set to drop at 7:30 pm.