Amid the season of giving, Flyers kick off new charitable initiative to serve local communities

When winger Travis Konecny heard about the Flyers’ new initiative that pairs every player with a local charitable cause, he knew he wanted to support those battling cancer.

The cause is very personal after he watched his close friend and former Flyers teammate Oskar Lindblom’s fight with Ewing sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. He and his teammates supported Lindblom from the day he received his diagnosis to the day he rang the bell, which signified the completion of his radiation treatments. Lindblom now is in his first season with the San Jose Sharks.

“It kind of went hand-in-hand with that and how I can specify something that revolved around Oskar,” Konecny said.

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In early December, Konecny worked with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help fulfill 9-year-old Zachary Wertz’s dream of being a Flyer. Wertz had been scheduled to skate with the team, but the pandemic stalled those plans. He has since had a liver transplant.

“That was awesome,” Konecny said. “He’s such a good kid. … It was cool seeing him on the bench at the game the next day. It was an awesome experience for him and for me.”

Moving forward, Konecny will act as one of the team’s advocates for cancer outreach and awareness and will work with the Abramson Cancer Center as a part of the Flyers Against Prostate Cancer initiative. The other advocate is defenseman Travis Sanheim, which “didn’t surprise [Konecny] at all” to hear.

Unlike Konecny, Sanheim did not give the team a specific cause he wanted to be paired with. The team’s NHL Players Association representative knew other guys on the team were passionate about being paired with certain organizations, so he told Flyers Charities that he would be happy to help fulfill whatever needs were left over.

“I wanted to help out as much as I could,” Sanheim said. “I think just because [Konecny and I] hang out so much, it’s pretty easy to put us together. We have fun with it.”

While Sanheim didn’t pick cancer awareness for himself, it’s no less personal. He, too, supported Lindblom through his fight and said that makes this all mean even more.

Newcomer Nicolas Deslauriers also went into the meeting about the pairings without a specific idea in mind. But when he found the All Things Are Possible Foundation, it felt like the right fit. His work will be supported by a $72,000 grant from Flyers Charities.

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Deslauriers, a father of four, said the first thing he told the foundation team is that he’s a big family guy and is interested in anything involved with kids. The ATAP Foundation emphasizes empowering youth through academics, athletics, awareness, and arts. The bruising winger said he’ll look to help the community in other ways as well, but he just wanted to get involved with his new community as fast as possible. He’s excited about the opportunities with ATAP, especially with the holidays coming.

“Anything you can do to help those kids that are in need in any way,” Deslauriers said. “Especially when Christmas is around, I think every time you give them a toy or just have a nice dinner with family, kids bring light into our lives.”

Winger Joel Farabee also went into his meeting saying he wanted to do anything with kids. He was paired with Leveling the Playing Field and went to help sort donations at its warehouse Monday. What really struck him was the amount of equipment donated not just for hockey but for every sport.

Many of the veteran Flyers were already involved in the community and are using the new initiative, which was spearheaded by Valerie Camillo, the president and CEO of Spectacor Sports and Entertainment, to become even more involved with the causes they’re passionate about. James van Riemsdyk and Scott Laughton, for example, had initiated a new program where they hosted members of the LGBTQ+ community at home games. They were already team representatives and allies with the LGBTQ+ community and have since increased the number of games they will host their guests.

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Laughton will also continue his work with cancer awareness, and van Riemsdyk will continue to advocate for autism awareness. Van Riemsdyk and his wife have been big proponents of autism awareness in every community they’ve lived in, and they were involved in the creation of the Wells Fargo Center’s sensory room.

Kevin Hayes supports the community in a number of ways, including through the foundation his family started in honor of his brother, but one of the passions he’s embraced within the Philadelphia community is his support of the military and first responders. Defenseman Tony DeAngelo, a new Flyer but a player who grew up locally, has also been involved with the cause. Together, they helped host 20 active service members at practice, and they each continue to support the community through their own initiatives.

Below is a list of all the Flyers and the causes they have been paired with: