Landon Maloney is every hockey coach’s dream. The 14-year-old Colorado native and huge Avalanche fan plays bigger than his size, is tenacious, gritty, determined and wins puck battles while never letting up. Off the ice, he’s a sweet kid who thinks of others and puts them before himself. He loves going fishing with his father and goofing around with his two younger sisters.
His resilience, grit and determination have been put on display in a situation that is more arduous than anything Landon has faced on the ice: battling cancer.
In June, Landon started feeling pain in his knee that would come and go and was initially believed to just be growing pains.
However, in August, Landon’s legs became swollen, and he complained about having trouble walking. For him to be as tough as he is and complaining about pain was a sign to his parents, Colt and Arlene, that this was more than just growing pains.
While Landon was at the doctor’s office receiving imaging on his leg, the nurse practitioner and orthopedic provider took Arlene into a small room and told her the four words no parent wants to hear: your child has cancer.
The imaging Landon received revealed a large tumor in his leg, and he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a cancer found in the long bones. Landon was told he’ll likely never be able to play hockey again.
Immediately, the process of treatments and appointments began, so quickly that his family wasn’t quite able to process the news they had received until later on.
“There was a time of just shock and disbelief,” Arlene said. “And I said, ‘Why? Why my kid?’”
Throughout this process, Landon has been extremely positive, and his toughness has been an example for his family.
“With him kind of leading the way, you have to stay positive because that's what he's doing,” Colt said about his son. “So, when I find myself getting down in the dumps, I can just look to the kid that's actually going through it. It's like I gotta toughen up myself.”
That positivity is reflected in Landon’s confidence that he is going to beat cancer.
“There's not even a glimmer in his mind that he's not getting through this,” Colt said.
Landon is not fighting this battle alone. The hockey community has rallied around the Maloney family, with Colt calling the support overwhelming.
Players across the State of Colorado have been wearing ribbons with Landon’s No. 87. A benefit game for Landon has been scheduled. The family has received drop-offs of food, blankets, hoodies, beanies and games for Landon to play while he’s in the hospital. His teammates have shaved their heads for Landon and taped their sticks yellow for cancer awareness.
Landon said he’s grateful for the support from his family, his teammates, the community and the Avalanche, adding that it’s cool to have so many people supporting him, even if he doesn’t know all of them.
“They’ve all been very helpful,” Landon said about his family’s support. “Very kind. Very loving. Very great. Buying me snacks and taking me to dinner and hospital stays. I'm super grateful that they help me.”
During Landon’s battle, he and his family have been taking any win they can get. Some of those wins include the fact that the cancer is localized and hasn’t spread, in addition to the chemo not being too harsh on his body. The latter of which is another testament to Landon’s toughness.
“The nurses are shocked,” Arlene said. “He was in last week and making all the nurses laugh. And they're like, ‘You're a tough kid.’ And he's like, ‘I'm really hungry.’ And they're like, ‘You should be really sick right now. Like, you shouldn't be hungry.’”
Something that has helped Landon during his battle is the motivation of getting better provided by the fact that he’s going to attend the Avalanche’s Hockey Fights Cancer Night, presented by UCHealth, and read the starting lineup to the team before it faces the Detroit Red Wings on November 7th.
“Just to know that if I get out of here (the hospital) faster, I can look forward to this (Hockey Fights Cancer Night),” Landon said. “And it’ll get here faster.”
Landon’s favorite Avalanche player is Nathan MacKinnon because he always hustles and scores goals, and he said he models his game after Josh Manson.
“He’s probably the toughest guy on the team,” Landon said about Manson. “He’s very physical, [he] likes to get in some fights and [is] fun to watch, too.”
Landon has taken the lessons he’s learned from watching players like MacKinnon and Cale Makar into his battle.
“He looks up to everything they do,” Colt said. "Their grit, their toughness and their determination. Them not giving up.”
Landon said he’ll give a message to the Avs when reading the starting lineup, and it perfectly encapsulates his spirit and strength during his battle.
“Work hard. Keep hustling. Keep going. Buzzer to buzzer.”
