Coop’s Catch 2025 Recap: Record donations, Remi the angler & Charles Barkley pitches in

One of the most anticipated days on the Tampa Bay Lightning calendar returned Monday, and in doing so raised a record-setting $500,000 for children fighting cancer in the Tampa Bay area.

Monday marked the eighth annual Coop’s Catch for Kids fishing tournament, a catch-and-release competition established by Lightning head coach Jon Cooper in which Lightning players, staff and community sponsors join pediatric cancer patients and their families on the waters of Tampa Bay. Their mission: to heighten awareness around young—but mighty—cancer warriors throughout the community.

“Super,” Lightning captain Victor Hedman said of how inspiring the children are. “Having kids yourself, as a parent you can't imagine going through that as a family. But what you learn about these kids is how resilient they are. And you know, that's a key word that we use in the locker room too, is resiliency, how you fight back in the world of sports. But what these kids go through and what they do is just inspiring to all of us."

This year’s event set a new record in philanthropy. Sunday night’s Angler's Party raised more than $400,000, with the event raising $500,000 total. That money goes to the J5 Foundation, the Cooper family’s charitable organization founded in 2022 that supports pediatric cancer research and patient services via the Lightning Foundation.

The party kickstarted another strong year for the tournament, one which fought through colder temperatures and windy conditions on Monday.

“We came from humble beginnings,” Cooper said. "It was an idea one day on the water, inspired from our good friend Tony Colton, who's no longer with us, but his legacy has stuck with us, and this tournament has stuck with us, and every year it just gets bigger and better.

"This is just a stark reminder of the realities of some of the hardships that kids face. And so, we're gonna go out here and have a bunch of fun, but in the end we know what the purpose of this is for and we have heavy hearts for those that are right behind us,” he said, motioning to TGH Hospital behind him.

Sunday Angler's Party highlights bravery, kindness

On Sunday night, attendees of the annual Angler's Party heard numerous stories about why this event means so much to Cooper. The coach spoke of the aforementioned Colton, the youngster who inspired him to take action and help kids fighting cancer when he was still a rookie head coach in 2015.

Rob Higgins, USF Athletics CEO, shared his story of battling cancer side by side with his father after waking up from a routine colonoscopy surrounded by doctors last year.

“Kids need help,” Higgins told the audience Sunday. “And that’s why we’re here."

Sunday’s dinner guest list was impressive. Hall of Fame NBA player and current television analyst Charles Barkley. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. World Series champions Tino Martinez and David Wells. Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronde Barber. Professional wrestler Titus O’Neil. But the celebration wasn’t about them this weekend. It was about the four young cancer survivors who took center stage after Cooper’s speech:

Ceci Ayule, this year’s guest of honor. Ayule, 10, was diagnosed with leukemia as a second-grader in December 2022 and is now in remission.

The event’s 2017 guest of honor Weston Herman, a 19-year-old who was diagnosed with brain cancer for the first time at the age of seven and has battled brain cancer five times.

Nine-year-old Jaxon Warburton, the hockey player who caught a tarpon at last year’s fishing tournament and was the ThunderKid for Hockey Fights Cancer Night last year after surviving a 12-hour surgery to fight ganglioneuroblastoma when he was three.

Remi Sutherland, the seven-year-old who is currently in remission after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and enduring eight rounds of chemo over two and a half years.

Each received a signed Lightning jersey on Sunday night, followed by a “Love you all” from the Bolts coach.

In its inaugural year, Coop’s Catch for Kids raised $60,000. This year's donation alone hit $500,000 behind boat sponsorships as well as donations from community and Lightning organization members.

"I'm not sitting here saying Coop's Catch is going to cure cancer. It's not curing cancer. It’s not,” Cooper said Sunday. “But we can help. We can put them in a better place. We can make their lives better. We can make everything just a little bit better."

Longtime Lightning owner Jeff Vinik joined incoming owners Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz in contributing $50,000 each shortly after donations opened.

Lightning employees from the hockey operations and business teams combined to donate tens of thousands of dollars.

When Lightning players plotted to out-donate Cooper on Sunday, a giving war between the two sides began. As their combined contributions surpassed $50,000, Ostrover stepped in with an additional contribution of $12,500 to push the party’s donations over $400,000.

Remi The Angler

Remi Sutherland turns eight years old this weekend, but she’s already a fishing mastermind.

Her father loves to fish, and she began fishing alongside her brothers as soon as she could walk, according to her mother, Ashley.

Remi showed it on Monday afternoon as she fished alongside her mother and Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli. She had two bites in her first 10 minutes on the boat, and the youngster caught six fish before the one-hour mark of the tournament.

The Sutherlands were already Lightning fans before being connected to Coop’s Catch for Kids through the Children’s Cancer Center. Remi became a big fan of JJ Moser—whose name and signature were on her gifted jersey on Sunday—after Coop’s Catch 2024.

Pediatric cancer needs attention, Ashley said.

"Everybody thinks it's so rare until it happens to you, and I don't think people realize the scope of what these kids go through and the funding that's needed to keep the research going,” Ashley said. “I mean, if it wasn't for research, we wouldn't have had a cure for her cancer. There's so many childhood cancers that don't have a cure and that needs the research to make that possible. So I think events like this, anything that brings awareness to what's going on and is able to fundraise for pediatric cancer is amazing."

Remi caught a 17 1/2-inch redfish around 10:30 a.m., one Cirelli told her she was going to have to hold for the picture because she was less scared of holding a fish than him. In just an hour the duo combined to catch nine fish, one shy of the youngster's goal for the entire day.

But that number rose quickly.

“Now we’re going for 20,” Remi told Cirelli with an excited laugh as she jumped for a high-five.

At one point, Remi thought maybe the goal should be 30 before audibly considering a 100-catch goal. For moments on Monday, it looked like the boat stood a chance. Just before 11 a.m., Remi pulled in a hulking sheepshead and drew the attention of everyone on the boat as Cirelli caught a smaller redfish.

While Cirelli might have had the most unique catch of the boat with a stingray, Sutherland caught a vast majority of the 22-fish total they reached before the vessel returned to shore. Her favorite catch was the sheepshead, but Cirelli said she had plenty to brag about as one of the busiest anglers of the day.

“She definitely knew what she was doing, and she’s a really good fisher,” Cirelli said. “I think she caught about 15 herself, so pretty impressive.”

The Lightning forward called the youngster “awesome," but Remi did tease him a bit for getting out-fished on Monday.

“She's been through a lot, and to overcome that and come every day with a smile on your face and just in the happiest mood, it's nice to see,” Cirelli said. “She was giving it to me a little bit for not catching too many fish, but she was having fun with it. And as a kid going through that, it's tough. She's a champ, so it was awesome to be able to spend the day with her.”

Barkley quick to contribute at first Coop’s Catch appearance

Charles Barkley has known Cooper since they met at a restaurant ten years ago in Los Angeles. When the Tampa Bay Lightning head coach invited Barkley to attend this year’s tournament, he was quick to oblige.

Barkley took it a step further on Sunday night, donating $25,000 before jumping on Cooper’s boat on Monday.

“If our schedules match, I always try to go to a game. But, man, he's just a great friend,” Barkley said of Cooper. "And I'm glad to be a small part of an amazing day."

Cooper surprised Barkley at Monday’s tournament award ceremony with a new award this year, a tiny trophy which the coach said Barkley earned by catching the smallest redfish of the day.

Cooper always enjoys spending time with a friend like Barkley, but it carries extra weight on days such as the last few.

“The fact that he is so passionate about causes like this and he's here to help, I think that's why Charles is Charles, because he will jump on an airplane and come out and support a cause with a whole bunch of people he doesn't even know. But he knows it's for the greater good,” Cooper said. "That’s why Charles Barkley is an A-Lister.”

Prior to hitting the water, Barkley acknowledged that pediatric cancer research could use more resources.

He talked about learning that only 4% of cancer research funds go toward pediatric cancer, applauding Cooper and Coop’s Catch for working to change that.

"That number kind of shocked me last night, to be honest with you,” Barkley said. "Because I think it's not talked about enough. It's obviously really, really important, but it's something that's not really talked about a lot, and that's unfortunate. And for Coach Cooper to bring awareness to it, it's pretty special.”