SPRINGFIELD — Deme Anas is rarely far from Sam Anas’ mind. The Springfield Thunderbirds forward thinks of her when the collage on the mantle in his Springfield apartment catches his eye or when he’s cooking one of the recipes they shared using a technique she taught him.
She’ll be in the front of his mind again Saturday night as he heads to the MassMutual Center. The 7:05 pm. game against the Providence Bruins is the Thunderbirds’ annual Pink in the Rink night. The promotion designed to support breast cancer causes and awareness is a popular one around minor league hockey. The Springfield players will wear pink uniforms during the game. Afterward, each player’s sweater will be auctioned off to benefit Rays of Hope, the foundation that raises money and awareness to fight breast cancer through Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.
In the course of an AHL season, most players will wear several jerseys. In addition to the regular home and away sweaters, there are all kinds of special ones around the league. Third jerseys, throwback jerseys, superhero-themed jerseys, military appreciation camo style jerseys. Most of them are fun and vary from year to year. But pulling on the pink uniform has always been sacred for the 28-year-old Potomac, Maryland native. This will be the 28-year-old Anas’ fifth time participating in the event, but the first since Deme died after a long battle with breast cancer on August 27, 2020.
“This will be the first Pink in the Rink game without my mom so it will be the hardest,” Anas said. “It’s something that has always meant a lot to our family. It’s a special night for us.”
When Sam played for the Iowa Wild in 2017, Deme was one of the women the team honored before the game. When she came out to drop the puck for a ceremonial faceoff, Iowa captain Mike Weber stepped back and summoned Anas to replace him giving mother and son a special moment.
Sam and Deme Anas reprised that moment again in the seasons that followed. A collage of pictures from one of those nights is currently on Sam’s mantle.
Growing up in Maryland, Deme didn’t have a hockey background until she met Peter Anas, a goalie from Canada. Her love and understanding of the game began with Peter and flourished when Sam started playing. Through youth hockey, juniors, Quinnipaic and then the AHL, she’d wear a scarf or a broach in whatever Sam’s team color was. She and Peter would sit behind the opposing goalie to get the best view of Sam’s crafty offensive arsenal.
“Once I got playing she really loved it,” Sam said. “She was really supportive and always wanted to be there for me. Her knowledge went from very little to through the roof.”
As he got older, part of that support was teaching him to cook healthy meals — salmon, turkey etc. — as well as some traditional Greek dishes. She bought him the same set of pans that she used.
“She took to hockey which was my interest and I took to cooking which was something of hers. It was kind of a fun little connection that we had,” Sam said. “She always loved these pans. They’re unreal. It’s something I wouldn’t have thought of before she passed. But now I look at those pans and it just kind of hits me.”
After Deme Anas died, there was no Pink in the Rink game during the 2020-21 season that Sam spent playing in Utica because there were no fans allowed in AHL games due to COVID-19.
Now in his first season in Springfield, Sam has embraced the return of the tradition for his new team. He’s been a de facto ambassador for the Thunderbirds as they’ve promoted the game.
“It’s something I take a lot of pride in, whether it’s raising awareness or just talking to people. Letting people know there’s always people fighting for them,” he said. “It’s an honor and something I know that would make my mom proud. … I’m not just playing for her. There are so many other people fighting the fight. So many people who know someone that’s going through it.”
Lindsey Bubar is one of the people Sam has been fighting for. Bubar is a 39-year-old insurance account executive from East Longmeadow and the mother of two boys. The graduate of Cathedral and UMass is approaching the five-year anniversary of her breast cancer diagnosis. After surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, she’s been cancer-free for three years.
Bubar is Rays of Hope’s 2022-23 chairperson. That distinction is a two-year post where someone, usually a breast cancer survivor, becomes the face of the foundation’s outreach efforts. She and Anas had the chance to meet last month as they took part in a promotional photo shoot.
“We were able to talk. It was a cool moment,” Anas said. “It’s a different situation. But everything is relatable.”
Bubar will be in the same position Deme Anas was, dropping the ceremonial puck before the game. After that, she’ll spend the evening meeting and talking to cancer survivors and those still battling the disease in the stands as well as rooting for her new friend.
“Sam was so lovely and welcoming. There was a part of me sitting next to him that felt guilty because I had been through breast cancer and I’m still here and he can’t have that same experience with his mom,” she said. “That affected me a little bit and he was so lovely to me. He was a super, super nice guy.”
Sam said his mom would be proud of his role leading up to the game, but would then tell him to get his head in hockey mode.
“The Pink in the Rink meant a lot to her,” Anas said. “But she was a hockey mom. She would want me to approach it as just another game. Focus up and do my thing.”