nccanes
08-10-2003, 07:47 AM
Great feature...
UND HOCKEY PLAYERS IN THE PROS: One goal in mind
As Brad DeFauw battles for NHL career, his father's health commands the spotlight
By Virg Foss
Herald Staff Writer
When Brad DeFauw was preparing to go to the NHL training camp with the Carolina Hurricanes last fall, it should have been one of the most exciting times of his life.
The former UND player who skated on NCAA championship teams with the Sioux in 1997 and 2000 was looking forward to his first real chance to crack a NHL roster as he headed into his third pro season.
His life turned upside down in a hurry.
Two weeks before he was to leave for Carolina's camp last fall, DeFauw's father, Russ, learned he had a fast-growing cancer in his chest.
"He had no idea," Brad DeFauw said.
The DeFauws saw a physician two weeks before camp opened. "They found the tumor in his chest, and it was cancerous," Brad DeFauw said.
Because of the proximity of the tumor to the heart and other vital organs, doctors elected not to do surgery on Russ DeFauw. Instead, he underwent chemotherapy and radiation, the treatments starting immediately.
"I left (for camp) not knowing if he was going to make it or not," Brad DeFauw said.
His father has always been there for his son. There were few games that Brad DeFauw played in during his four years at UND - either in Grand Forks or on the road - where his parents weren't in attendance.
Back to UND
Recently, father and son were together again at Engelstad Arena at UND. DeFauw returned for a wedding of a former teammate and spent time working out at the rink with other former Sioux in the pros in preparation for the upcoming season. A head of hair just starting to grow back after chemotherapy was the only visible sign of his father's battle against cancer.
"It's in remission now," Russ DeFauw said. "I feel great."
Even so, the cancer lingers in his son's mind. Doctors might be able to erase the cancer - or at least put it into remission - but they can't cure the constant tug Brad DeFauw feels in his heart for his father's battle.
"My dad's situation was pretty serious," Brad DeFauw says. "It had been going on for a couple of months. He could barely breathe, the tumor was so big."
On March 9 of last season, DeFauw received a phone call at 9 a.m. from an assistant coach with the Lowell Lock Monsters, informing him he was being called up to the NHL for the first time. The call woke DeFauw out of a deep sleep, coming just hours after the Lock Monsters had returned from a long bus trip following a road game.
The next night, Brad DeFauw made his NHL debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets. DeFauw scored two goals on six shots, and was named the game's No. 1 star. He played in eight more games last season with the Hurricanes, finishing with three goals in nine total NHL games. He had 11 goals and 12 assists in 61 games with Lowell.
Happiness personified
"My first goal happened so fast, I was just in shock," DeFauw said. "My second goal was just an easy tap-in. I was so happy."
But true happiness came much earlier.
Around Christmas of last year, Brad DeFauw got the phone call from his dad telling him that the cancer had gone into remission. You want the best Christmas present ever? How do you top this?
But before then, there were so many phone calls between father and son, filled with anxiety and worry.
"You always count on your parents to be there for you," DeFauw said. "That was a scary time, not knowing if he was going to be there."
Even the tone of the phone calls between father and son changed, even as the cancerous tumor first grew, then shrank.
"He wanted to talk hockey to get his mind off his cancer, and I wanted to do the same, talk to him about his health to get my mind off hockey," DeFauw said. "It was like a role reversal for us. The past seven years, we've always talked strictly hockey."
Different times
When the NHL training camps open this fall, life will be different for the two. His son can enter camp without being worried about Russ' health. Russ now walks with a smile on his face and a bounce in his step again, knowing his tumor is not life-threatening.
DeFauw said Carolina has 18 forwards who'll compete for 13 spots on the NHL roster in camp this fall. "I know they're going with a bit of a younger team, because they finished last last season. They're looking to make changes, but you never know, so I have to go to camp ready to go."
He knows that this camp should be far different than the last.
"When dad found out about the cancer two weeks before I went to camp, I stopped working out as we went all over the Twin Cities and to Rochester to see doctors, and for testing," DeFauw said. " So I didn't go to camp in that good of shape."
Neither physically or mentally, really.
DeFauw is entering his last year of his two-year contract with Carolina. With a potential lockout coming in the NHL after next season, he doesn't know what's ahead for him.
What he does know is that his dad is there for him now, and on the mend. For Brad DeFauw, that's all that really matters.
UND HOCKEY PLAYERS IN THE PROS: One goal in mind
As Brad DeFauw battles for NHL career, his father's health commands the spotlight
By Virg Foss
Herald Staff Writer
When Brad DeFauw was preparing to go to the NHL training camp with the Carolina Hurricanes last fall, it should have been one of the most exciting times of his life.
The former UND player who skated on NCAA championship teams with the Sioux in 1997 and 2000 was looking forward to his first real chance to crack a NHL roster as he headed into his third pro season.
His life turned upside down in a hurry.
Two weeks before he was to leave for Carolina's camp last fall, DeFauw's father, Russ, learned he had a fast-growing cancer in his chest.
"He had no idea," Brad DeFauw said.
The DeFauws saw a physician two weeks before camp opened. "They found the tumor in his chest, and it was cancerous," Brad DeFauw said.
Because of the proximity of the tumor to the heart and other vital organs, doctors elected not to do surgery on Russ DeFauw. Instead, he underwent chemotherapy and radiation, the treatments starting immediately.
"I left (for camp) not knowing if he was going to make it or not," Brad DeFauw said.
His father has always been there for his son. There were few games that Brad DeFauw played in during his four years at UND - either in Grand Forks or on the road - where his parents weren't in attendance.
Back to UND
Recently, father and son were together again at Engelstad Arena at UND. DeFauw returned for a wedding of a former teammate and spent time working out at the rink with other former Sioux in the pros in preparation for the upcoming season. A head of hair just starting to grow back after chemotherapy was the only visible sign of his father's battle against cancer.
"It's in remission now," Russ DeFauw said. "I feel great."
Even so, the cancer lingers in his son's mind. Doctors might be able to erase the cancer - or at least put it into remission - but they can't cure the constant tug Brad DeFauw feels in his heart for his father's battle.
"My dad's situation was pretty serious," Brad DeFauw says. "It had been going on for a couple of months. He could barely breathe, the tumor was so big."
On March 9 of last season, DeFauw received a phone call at 9 a.m. from an assistant coach with the Lowell Lock Monsters, informing him he was being called up to the NHL for the first time. The call woke DeFauw out of a deep sleep, coming just hours after the Lock Monsters had returned from a long bus trip following a road game.
The next night, Brad DeFauw made his NHL debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets. DeFauw scored two goals on six shots, and was named the game's No. 1 star. He played in eight more games last season with the Hurricanes, finishing with three goals in nine total NHL games. He had 11 goals and 12 assists in 61 games with Lowell.
Happiness personified
"My first goal happened so fast, I was just in shock," DeFauw said. "My second goal was just an easy tap-in. I was so happy."
But true happiness came much earlier.
Around Christmas of last year, Brad DeFauw got the phone call from his dad telling him that the cancer had gone into remission. You want the best Christmas present ever? How do you top this?
But before then, there were so many phone calls between father and son, filled with anxiety and worry.
"You always count on your parents to be there for you," DeFauw said. "That was a scary time, not knowing if he was going to be there."
Even the tone of the phone calls between father and son changed, even as the cancerous tumor first grew, then shrank.
"He wanted to talk hockey to get his mind off his cancer, and I wanted to do the same, talk to him about his health to get my mind off hockey," DeFauw said. "It was like a role reversal for us. The past seven years, we've always talked strictly hockey."
Different times
When the NHL training camps open this fall, life will be different for the two. His son can enter camp without being worried about Russ' health. Russ now walks with a smile on his face and a bounce in his step again, knowing his tumor is not life-threatening.
DeFauw said Carolina has 18 forwards who'll compete for 13 spots on the NHL roster in camp this fall. "I know they're going with a bit of a younger team, because they finished last last season. They're looking to make changes, but you never know, so I have to go to camp ready to go."
He knows that this camp should be far different than the last.
"When dad found out about the cancer two weeks before I went to camp, I stopped working out as we went all over the Twin Cities and to Rochester to see doctors, and for testing," DeFauw said. " So I didn't go to camp in that good of shape."
Neither physically or mentally, really.
DeFauw is entering his last year of his two-year contract with Carolina. With a potential lockout coming in the NHL after next season, he doesn't know what's ahead for him.
What he does know is that his dad is there for him now, and on the mend. For Brad DeFauw, that's all that really matters.