ST. PAUL, MINN.—Philadelphia Flyers left wing Oskar Lindblom has a rare medical condition and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Lindblom, 23, has been diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma by leading specialists at the University of Pennsylvania, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said.
“The Flyers will do everything possible to support Oskar and assist him in securing the best care possible,” Fletcher said in a statement.
Ewing’s sarcoma is a very rare cancerous tumour that grows in the bones or the soft tissue around the bones. It usually affects people from the ages of 10 to 20. About 250 children and young adults are diagnosed every year in the United States — slightly more males than females and most of them white.
The cancer is treated with chemotherapy, surgery and radiation. If it hasn’t spread beyond the site of origin, the cure rates are near 80 per cent. It can spread to the lungs, other bones and bone marrow, so chemotherapy is important to kill micrometastases.
Fletcher said that “out of respect to Oskar and his family” the team would have no further comment at this time.
The hockey world, and beyond, showed their support on social media.
Tweeted Derek Settlemyre, the Flyers’ equipment manager: “We are fighting with our brother @oskarlindblom We love you bro!”
“Together we are OskarStrong,” the Flyers tweeted.
Many opposing players and teams also showed Lindblom their support on social media.
Lindblom was having a breakout season and shared the Flyers’ team lead with 11 goals. He missed the Flyers’ game in Colorado on Wednesday, but played in the team’s other 30 contests this season. Lindblom had missed Monday’s practice in Voorhees, N.J. — the team called it a “maintenance day” — but he was back at practice Tuesday.
He did not travel with the team for their current three-game road trip.
A native of Sweden, Lindblom was blossoming into one of the Flyers’ best all-around players. Earlier this season, he and Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny formed the Flyers’ most effective line.
“Very coachable. And he plays a real intelligent game, a north-south game,” coach Alain Vigneault said last month about Lindblom. “He goes to the tough areas.”
Lindblom, known for his easygoing, humble nature and his perpetual smile, was a fifth-round steal (138th overall) in the 2014 draft.
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“It’s nice to know even if you get drafted in the late rounds, you can be on this level,” he said recently.
Playing against men much older than him, Lindblom was named the Swedish Hockey League’s best forward in 2016-17 as he collected 22 goals (second in the league) and 47 points in 52 games.