Arizona Community Shows Out for Skatin’ For Leighton on Sunday

Sunday may have been a rainy day in The Valley, but spirits at Mountain America Stadium were brighter than ever.

The Arizona Coyotes hosted the fourth annual Skatin’ For Leighton presented by Phoenix Children’s last Sunday, raising money to support girls’ hockey in the state while honoring the life and legacy of Leighton Accardo, who tragically passed away in November 2020 following a courageous battle against cancer at just nine years old.

The Arizona community, including Coyotes hockey players, showed out in force to skate, walk, and run around the stadium, raising $30,000 for the Leighton Accardo Scholarship Fund, which provides financial assistance to girls interested in playing hockey in Arizona.

Donations will continue to be accepted through Sunday, Jan. 28, allowing the community additional time to support the sport’s exponential growth and interest throughout Arizona.

“It’s so meaningful that we get to remember Leighton and everything she represented,” said Lyndsey Fry, Arizona Kachinas President, Coyotes Club Ambassador, and radio color analyst. “The fact that we continue to raise money for the Leighton Accardo Scholarship Fund, which helps young girls who have financial barriers play hockey -- the sport that Leighton loved – makes it all the more meaningful.”

Fry held the inaugural event in February 2021 by skating 96 miles across the state in an effort to raise money for the same cause. Three years later it has turned into a celebration of Accardo’s life, who touched the hearts of the Coyotes’ organization during her courageous battle, and she was ultimately inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in April 2021.

Her parents, Carly and Jeremy, continue to maintain close ties to the team and the Arizona community, and said Sunday’s event is a reminder of how The Valley reciprocates that respect and admiration while keeping the memory of Leighton ever-present.

“It means a ton that Leighton is still being remembered and celebrated; It’s really special for us,” Carly said. “To see all aspects of her life come together to celebrate her: her baseball friends, her hockey friends, her school friends, and kids she met at the hospital, she would just love it, and she would be the life of the party.”

Jeremy agreed.

“It tugs at our heart strings a lot,” he said. “We always get nervous in the weeks leading up to it, but props to the Coyotes who take this under control and let us just enjoy the process. Obviously as parents we’re worried that the turnout isn’t going to be great, and the things that Leighton cared about won’t be celebrated as much as we would like, but every year it continues to get better.

“For this to benefit something that meant so much to Leighton, especially with her not getting to fulfill her dreams of playing sports at an elite level, for us to raise money to allow other girls to chase those dreams, it means a lot to us and it definitely would mean a lot to Leighton if she were here today.”

Fry, who won a silver medal with Team USA at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, has been part of the Arizona girls’ hockey community since she started playing, and there were fewer than 30 participants at the time.

Fast-forward to 2024, and there are roughly 250 girls across 16 different teams who have the option to participate in every level of hockey available.

“If you want to do a learn to play, we’ve got you. If you want a continue to play program, we’ve got you. If you want to play house hockey, we’ve got you. Travel? Pick a level. You want to play A, AA, AAA, we’ve got you,” Fry said. “Oh, and then by the way, when you’re done with college, come on back and we’ve got a women’s league for you, as well.

“There are so many opportunities that did not exist 10, 15, 20 years ago. Now that's normal for these girls.”

The exponential growth of girls’ hockey in Arizona can be attributed to a number of individuals, including former Coyotes Vice President of Hockey Development Matt Shott, who tragically lost his own battle against Cancer in 2021. Shott worked tirelessly to grow the game in the state, and those efforts were rewarded when the Kachinas received Tier I status in 2022.

“A lot of people know who Leighton is because of Lyndsey and because of Matt,” Carly said. “The two of them did a ton to bring Leighton into the hockey world.”

Coyotes forward Lawson Crouse has remained close with the Accardo family since the team first hosted Leighton at its Hockey Fights Cancer night in 2019, and has worked tirelessly, along with his wife Claire, to ensure her memory continues on.

The Crouse family have donated their own funds, as well as encouraged others to attend and donate, and those efforts were not only recognized with the grand total raised, but also with over 500 additional registrations completed on the morning of the event.

“She’s up there smiling down today, and I just get chills thinking about it,” Crouse said. “It was a life that was way too short, and I think she would be smiling. That’s what she was always doing whenever I would see her.

“Her positive energy was contagious.”

Fellow forward Michael Carcone was one of the many players in attendance, and as a parent himself, said the message of the event hits home even further.

“When you’re younger maybe it doesn’t hit as hard, but when you have your own kids it opens your eyes a bit more,” Carcone said. “When we can all get together and do something special like this, it means a lot. We have a bunch of fans that are there to support us, and we want to support the community, and it’s great to get out.”

The laughter and smiles that radiated throughout the stadium on Sunday highlighted just how much the Arizona community – not just limited to hockey – came together to support a meaningful cause. 

All while honoring a special girl who, though she was taken far too soon, will continue to have an impact on the lives of others for years to come.
The Coyotes, and the Accardo family, will make sure of it.

“These girls growing up in these team sports and competing in this, allows them to maximize their potential and growth,” Jeremy said. “These girls are going to grow up to be very powerful women, and use sports to be able to do that.”