February 13, 2015
by Gann Matsuda
Nine-year old Grace Bowen, a former hockey player
who was stricken by cancer, is shown here dropping
the puck for the ceremonial opening face-off prior to
the Calgary Flames vs. LA Kings game on
February 12, 2015, at Staples Center.
Photo: Aaron Poole/NHLI/Getty Images
and the Los Angeles Kings
LOS ANGELES — On a night when the
Los Angeles Kings earned a much-needed 5-3 win over the
Calgary Flames at
Staples Center in Los Angeles, they honored former head coach
Barry Melrose during one of their Legends Nights. But they also honored one very special guest.
On February 12, nine-year-old Grace Bowen, who played right wing for the West Northumberland Wild of the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League, was honored by the Kings prior to the game.
Accompanied by her father, Greg, and her mother, Andrea, young Grace, a native of Grafton, Ontario, dropped the puck for the ceremonial opening face-off.
As reported by Pete Fisher in Northumberland Today, Prior to her birthday in April 2014, Grace was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of cancer.
Doctors found a tumor in her right femur along with a pathological fracture. Grace underwent 7 1/2 months of chemotherapy, along with “…rotation plasty surgery to remove the tumor and utilize her ankle to create a new knee. That joint will be used when Grace gets a prosthetic.”
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