Trail Smoke Eaters goaltender Cooper Michaluk has an additional reason to stop pucks this month.
“For every save I make in the February, I’ll be donating a dollar for cancer research and I challenge everyone else to go along with that and just help me by donating for every save I make,” said the 20-year-old.
The cause hits close to home.
Cooper’s grandfather passed away last month and his grandmother is a cancer survivor.
“I had a couple of experiences with my Grandma and my Papa just recently so it’s close to my family and my heart,” he stated, feeling the community will be happy to join the campaign.
“In a small town like Trail and the great fan base we’ve got going here, it’s a way for people to come together, raise money and take down this thing as one,” hopes the veteran netminder.
Cooper is dialed in mentally for every start and believes the campaign will provide extra motivation.
“It’s something going forward that will always be on my mind,” he said, noting that it’s an effort that will pay dividends beyond his hockey playing days.
“I can fight as hard as I can out there, but I can always stop (focusing on cancer prevention) whenever I want, people who go through cancer can’t really stop and that’s something that I keep in my heart,” added Michaluk, who hopes this will create a long term legacy.
“There are lots of people that go through cancer, I know I’m not the only one, I just want to use my platform and my voice and bring everyone together and tackle this thing together,” Cooper explained.
The progress of the promotion can be tracked on the Smoke Eaters social media platforms.
There will be bars indicating the number of saves Cooper makes during the month and another with the total amount of money raised.
