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Cancer survivor Owen Brady receives special invite to Panthers development camp, leaves with unique ‘souvenir’

Sam Sklar, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·4 min read

CORAL SPRINGS — Owen Brady remembers exactly where he was when he found out he’d be going to the Florida Panthers development camp.

That’s because it wasn’t the typical invite.

He stopped playing hockey for two years to fight a battle versus cancer. Brady first noticed the lump on his shin five summers ago, and part of his recovery process required a surgery that took part of the fibula in his right leg and transplanted it into the tibia in his left leg.

He’s now cancer-free.

Once a hopeful NHL draft prospect but now undrafted, Brady was working his “mini dream job” at a golf course in Canada when he received word he was invited to the Panthers development camp.

“I was kind of just blown away,” Brady said after Friday’s scrimmage. “I was running around work and didn’t really know what to do with myself. It was really exciting.”

The joy in Brady’s voice stands out — besides the massive, fresh cut above his left eye.

Practice ended slightly early on Thursday when he took a spill in a 3-on-3 drill and face planted on the ice. His visor gashed him just below his eyebrow, leaving a stain of blood on the ice. Brady needed seven stitches, but still participated in a team-bonding dodgeball game that night and the scrimmage on Friday.

“Good to get a little souvenir for the way home,” Brady said.

Brady, in his first development camp, approached the week with humility. He self-proclaimed himself as the biggest jokester among the prospects, and also said he had a “blast” with on and off-the-ice activities such as the Blink 182 concert and sushi making.

“I feel like I deserve it and I worked really hard for this,” Brady said. “I tried to do my best, but I also tried to have a lot of fun with it because through my struggles and stuff I’ve learned just try to enjoy what you’re doing.”

Plus, character traits like that are part of what the coaching staff looks for. On-ice production is one thing, but the Panthers staff also took notice of how players carried themselves off the ice.

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And by all accounts, Brady passed that test.

“He’s a great kid,” director of player personnel Bryan McCabe said. “From a personality standpoint, he stood out maybe amongst the whole group. He’s a very funny, humorous guy, great attitude on life. Toughed it out with the stitches — a little war wound he’s got a story to tell when he goes back home — but, he did a great job this week. We’re very fortunate to have him here. He was a pretty special kid.”

“Talk about life lessons, right,” Charlotte Checkers coach Geordie Kinnear said. “Every day out here he always had a smile on his face. He ended up getting cut here at the end with a high stick or a visor, but what a positive kid, what a positive attitude. He came to work. He said the hardest day was Day 2 on the ice and he said, ‘I love those days. I love to work hard.’”

Brady played in 44 games for the Carleton Place Canadians of the Central Canada Hockey League last season, scoring once and recording 15 assists.

When he returns to his team, he’ll do so with new knowledge that he can’t wait to share with his teammates and coaches.

He created a running list on his phone during the week of all the things he learned from the Panthers coaching staff. It includes some of the pointers that were worked on in practice, such as puck protection, shooting techniques and more.

Then, he’ll go back to his offseason routine that begins with a 5 a.m. wakeup call. On some days, it’s straight to the golf course for work and then hockey training after. If he doesn’t work until later in the day, the order flips with a morning workout.

Brady is also exploring motivational speaking to share what he’s learned through his fight with cancer. He plans to study kinesiology, with an aspiration to start a business somewhere in between.

“I’m kind of busy all the time, but in my opinion, busy is best,” Brady said.

Hockey, of course, is still the dream, and receiving a development camp invite from the Panthers was a step in the right direction.

“What a great story,” Kinnear said. “I think we can all learn something from a player like that person.”