Road to the 2023 Esso Cup: West Regional

Hockey runs within the blood of Northern Selects ahead Megan Smith. Both of
her grandfathers performed the sport; her father, Bryan, performed and is the
coach of St. Francis Xavier University ladies’s hockey staff.

With a love of the sport generations deep in her household, Megan knew she
wished observe of their footsteps and laced up her skates at 5 years previous.

“It’s like a legacy,” the now 18-year-old says. “My household has performed
hockey and my brother [Oliver] simply cherished the game a lot.”

Megan’s youthful brother, Oliver, would tag alongside to observe her video games when
she started her hockey journey. Soon sufficient, he adopted his sister and commenced
enjoying hockey when he turned 5 years previous.

“He was so antsy in the stands. He just wanted to be on the ice,” Megan
says. “He was so desperate to get on the ice and the minute you might put
skates on his ft, he was off, he was going. He had a lot vitality.”

Together with their older sister Emma, all three Smith siblings have been very
shut rising up in Antigonish, N.S.

“We were so competitive,” Megan says. “We have been at all times enjoying mini-sticks
collectively, capturing basketballs exterior, going mountain climbing and fishing and
tenting. We’ve at all times been so shut. So even when Oliver acquired sick, we have been
there to help him. We couldn’t be as lively, however we made up for it
enjoying video video games, watching films and enjoying board video games.”

When Oliver started his first yr enjoying U11, his father Bryan seen that
one thing appeared off whereas he was on the ice.

“He wasn’t as fast,” Bryan says. “He was very fast, very agile. Then when
the autumn got here for tryouts, he simply didn’t have that very same flexibility,
agility.”

Oliver was complaining about his leg and groin being sore, so he started
physiotherapy to attempt to strengthen his leg. Along with the ache, he began
to really feel unwell. That introduced Oliver again to his physician in February of 2017,
when he was formally identified with Ewing sarcoma in his left hip, a uncommon
kind of most cancers that happens in bones or mushy tissue.

With his mobility restricted and Oliver spending extra time at dwelling as he
underwent therapy, the Smiths brainstormed what actions he may do to
cross the time. Bryan had some woodworking expertise, so he considered
making a robotic out of wooden and hockey laces. Nicknamed the “Olliebot,”
Oliver labored along with his household to make extra of the wood robots to provide to
pals.

It wasn’t till Bruce MacPherson, the daddy of Megan’s teammates Bree
MacPherson and Mairead MacPherson, requested to purchase an Olliebot that they
realized this enjoyable household exercise could be an effective way to provide again to the
group.

“We were like, ‘Wow, we could sell these,’” Bryan says. “We knew that
Oliver’s most cancers, Ewings most cancers, there wasn’t lots of fundraising for it.
It’s very uncommon, and there isn’t lots of fundraising for childhood most cancers
basically. … We knew we needed to direct it to that.”

The Smiths launched Olliebots for public gross sales in the midst of November
2017. By Dec. 23 of that yr, that they had offered 273 distinctive Olliebots. Proceeds
go to the Ewings Cancer Foundation of Canada and help different households in
Nova Scotia who’ve been affected by childhood most cancers.

“Each one comes with a bit tag after which hockey laces and wood blocks,
after which there’s customizable stickers and googly eyes,” Megan explains.
“Each Olliebot is definitely signed with a coronary heart inside an O. It’s on the
left hip, which is the place Oliver’s most cancers was.”

There are fairly a couple of notable members of the hockey group that personal an
Olliebot. Pittsburgh Penguins captain and Nova Scotia native Sidney Crosby
has one, plus he signed an Olliebot for Oliver to maintain. Toronto Maple Leafs
star Mitch Marner, Mike Babcock, Darryl Sittler, Ron MacLean and Don Cherry
every have an Olliebot. Blayre Turnbull, Jill Saulnier and Troy Ryan of
Canada’s National Women’s Team even have their very own.

With time, the Olliebot venture turned a group fundraising effort.
Schools in Antigonish have helped to arrange wooden for the Smiths or host
Olliebot nights the place lecturers and college students assist to create the wood
robots. Megan’s teammates on the Selects additionally helped in gathering provides.

“The ladies which can be enjoying on my present staff, I performed with all of them the
manner up in Selects. Some years, we get to the tip of the season and the
coaches might be like, ‘OK ladies, untie your skates, take the laces out and
cross them to the Smiths,’ and we make Olliebots out of skate laces proper
from my teammates’ skates,” Megan says. “I imply, I’m watching folks undo
their skates to provide to my household so we may give cash to analysis for
most cancers. It’s simply unbelievable the help which you could get from a bunch of
20 ladies.”

Unfortunately, Oliver misplaced his battle with most cancers in June 2019, at some point
after his twelfth birthday. Just because the hockey group rallied across the
Smith household when Oliver was identified, the group continues to offer
them with help and love since his passing.

“I’ve been with [my teammates] since Oliver acquired identified all the best way up
till he died in 2019, they usually all got here to his funeral, they have been within the
entrance row at his funeral,” Megan says. “They have been throughout, and even the
coaches too.”

There are good days and dangerous days when grieving the lack of a cherished one, however
Megan has proven resilience and perseverance. Her love of the sport has additionally
helped her over the previous few years.

“Hockey has been the one place the place I really feel I can go and that [it’s] only a
optimistic outlet,” she says. “Nobody meets you with a frown face, everybody
meets you with a smile they usually ask you ways you’re doing, they usually speak
about Oliver in probably the most optimistic methods. They let you know simply how nice of a
sister or mom or father you’re to him and the way proud you need to be simply
to hold on his legacy.”

Almost three years later, there continues to be indicators and tributes to
Oliver within the Nova Scotia hockey group. Megan switched her jersey to
Oliver’s No. 2 to proceed to hold on his legacy—plus Oliver’s two greatest
pals put on No. 2 and No. 22 to recollect him. The Selects even have decals
on the again of their helmets that characteristic an O, a coronary heart and a No. 2.

In honour of Oliver, the Smith household continues to make Olliebots and
donate their proceeds to the Ewings Cancer Foundation of Canada. While
Oliver used to signal every Olliebot along with his signature O and coronary heart, Megan now
continues that custom. Each member of the Selects has their very own Olliebot
that sits of their dressing room stalls. There’s even an Olliebot sitting
exterior on their native area signal.

“It’s not glued there, it simply sits there and it has sat there for like
three years,” Megan says. “Nobody takes it. Everyone is aware of what it’s and
it’s completely wonderful.”

Overall, the Smiths have remodeled 4,500 Olliebots and have raised extra
than $100,000.

“With Oliver dropping his battle, you by no means need to see one other child go
by means of what he has went by means of,” Megan says. “Just with the shortage of
fundraising and analysis for pediatric most cancers, I feel it’s necessary that
we sustain his legacy.

“I feel Oliver could be actually honoured to know that we carried on his
legacy and that there’s nonetheless hope for different kids.”

Something Oliver would at all times say is, “Be the hardest worker.” It’s a motto
the Smith household used all through Oliver’s life and after his demise. With
Olliebots tucked into their suitcases for the Esso Cup, Megan and the
Selects plan to embody that motto on the ice in Okotoks.

“Whenever I play, I attempt to be the toughest employee and it brings me a lot
pleasure to have the ability to do this and honour his legacy,” she says. “Everyone on my
staff is aware of the ‘Be the hardest worker,’ and we actually reside by it. We are the
hardest employees in apply, off ice, throughout video games. We reside by it, and it
means a lot that the ladies help me and my household.”