Cape Breton boy fighting cancer finds healing in hockey

Hockey is medicine for 9-year-old Leo Knott – who’s battling a rare cancer diagnosis.

For nine-year-old Leo Knott of Coxheath, N.S., hockey is more than a game; it’s something that helps him find solace as he battles cancer.

“When he got sick, (hockey) was just part of his medicine, too,” said Jason Knott, Leo’s father. “It just kept him going.”

At the age of four, Leo was diagnosed with a rare condition called Langerhans cell histiocytosis. Across years of treatment, playing sports became a kind of salvation for him.

“As long as he’s on the ice or on the ball field or playing lacrosse or playing soccer or swinging a golf club, he’s the same as all other kids,” Jason said.

Leo is one of several Maritime kids in the running to become Sports Illustrated’s Youth Athlete of the Year, which comes with a $25,000 grand prize.

So far, he says one of his hockey highlights is the time he met Pittsburgh Penguins’ star Sidney Crosby, who is his favourite player.

“I got to meet him and Nathan MacKinnon one time,” Leo said. ”That was really cool and I have a jersey signed by him.”

The signed jersey hangs proudly in Leo’s bedroom, which is like a shrine to his beloved game.

“We’re very stable,” Jason said. “He’s on a chemo pill and everything is keeping it at bay right now. The doctors don’t know how to get rid of it, but we know how to kind of deal with it right now.”

With a new season on the ice just around the corner, Leo is getting ready for his first year at the under-11 level with the Cape Breton County Islanders. As for his dreams?

“Probably to make it to the NHL one day,” Leo said.

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