Flyers prospect has cancer, says GM Ron Hextall
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER SUNRISE, Fla. - Logan Pyett, a defenseman playing for the Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate in Lehigh Valley, has a malignant tumor - a form of cancer known as sarcoma - in his upper left leg and will start receiving treatment Monday, general manager Ron Hextall said on Friday.
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INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
SUNRISE, Fla. - Logan Pyett, a defenseman playing for the Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate in Lehigh Valley, has a malignant tumor - a form of cancer known as sarcoma - in his upper left leg and will start receiving treatment Monday, general manager Ron Hextall said on Friday.
Pyett, 27, a Saskatchewan native who was drafted in the seventh round by Detroit in 2006, was signed as a free agent in the off-season after playing the last two seasons in Russia's KHL.
"He's a great kid . . . and he's obviously had his life turned upside down, but he's got a great attitude," Hextall said after watching the Flyers practice in Sunrise, Fla. "Hopefully, things will go in the right direction."
Hextall said Pyett has undergone a battery of tests and they "have come back in a good way. I just think when you look for cancer, whether it's spread or not, the indications are that it's fairly isolated in his leg."
The GM said Pyett would undergo chemotherapy treatments for four straight days every three weeks, "and then they'll remove the tumor."
He is being treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Hextall said there were a "lot of positive signs. That's the best I know."
At this point, he said, doctors don't know how much risk there is.
"Everything's been positive so far," he said. "The kid's got a great attitude. I guess so far, so good.
An emotional Hextall spoke in a measured tone as he discussed Pyett's battle and how it has affected the organization.
"He's in our family. He's under our umbrella and he knows that," he said. "We're going to do everything we can to get him the best care. I've already told him if he needs hotel rooms down our way while he's getting the treatment, he's welcome to it. We're going to look after him like he's ours."
Breakaways
The Flyers will face their former teammate, the ageless Jaromir Jagr, and the host Panthers on Saturday night. "From what I understand, he takes care of himself as well as anybody in pro sports," rookie coach Dave Hakstol said. . . . Hextall, a former goalie, on the new OT format: "I wouldn't mind moving the puck on that three-on-three, but I don't know if I'd want to be in the net. That's tough."
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