Flyers sign 9-year-old hockey forward battling cancer: 'He's going to remember this forever'
Owen Micciche was close to survivorship until last July, when doctors discovered new tumors that spread down his spine.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- There's a new star forward on the Philadelphia Flyers, though, he's a couple of years younger than most rookies.
"Play smart hockey and aim with your eyes," said 9-year-old Owen Micciche, who loves to skate and has a mean slap shot.
"He lives and breathes hockey, so this is the like the best gift he could ever have. I think he's going to remember this forever," said the boy's father, Jason Micciche.
For one day only, the Genesis Hockey Club captain became a Philadelphia Flyer.
"He's captain of his team, so he's got opinions and we're going to listen," said Cindy Stuntman, the senior vice president of community relations for the Flyers.
Owen was the Flyer's guest honoree for Hockey Fights Cancer Night; a fight that Owen has been in since he was 6 months old, when he was diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor.
"He did chemo for a year and a half. [He's] had a lot of surgeries, over 20 brain surgeries for shunt revisions and biopsies. He actually was stable for seven and a half years," said Jennifer Micciche, his mom.
The Micciche family says Owen was close to survivorship, until last July, when doctors discovered new tumors that spread down his spine. It was a diagnosis Owen took in stride.
"He does it with a smile on his face, right?" Jennifer asked her son.
"I got a smile from all the Chick-fil-A I got," Owen responded.
That smile was ear to ear as Owen got his own locker for the game. He took a rookie skate with Flyers forward Owen Tippett and sat on the bench with coach John Tortorella. It was an experience he'll never forget surrounded by his biggest fans.
"That really is what keeps us going because if he can do it, our job is to just help him get through it," said his mother.
Owen's cancer journey is far from over. For the next year, he'll be undergoing chemotherapy treatments. But in between it all, he'll be back with his team doing what he loves, playing hockey, as a legend, as one of the youngest players ever to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers.
