Lightning hockey helped fulfill life for young fan Anna-Saphia Rogers

Anna-Saphia Rogers’ dream job was to be a sideline reporter and work in the NHL, preferably for her favorite team in the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 18-year-old fan and South Tampa, Florida resident died last month after a battle with a rare medical condition, but her parents say her fandom for the Lightning and hockey in general allowed for a constant sense of fulfillment, hope and joy.

"She was a statistical anomaly as far as facts, statistics about players, where they went to college,” Rogers’ mother, Lotte, said before adding that her daughter was always looking for new ways to immerse herself in the sport.

Just ask retired Lightning player and former captain Vincent Lecavalier, who was quickly stopped by a giddy Anna-Saphia when he went to introduce himself during a game at AMALIE Arena after being seated near the Rogers family.

“He said, ‘My name is Vinny.’ And she goes, ‘Oh I know who you are.’ That’s when (Mikey) Eyssimont had joined the team,” her father, Chuck Rogers, remembered. “And Vinny’s sitting there talking to his son and was trying to pronounce the last name, and she goes, ‘It’s Eyssimont, and he came through the Winnipeg system.’

She knew everything about every player.”

Fighting a big battle with positivity

Anna-Saphia was born with a rare genetic disorder called PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS) leading to increased risk of both benign and malignant tumors. She needed her left leg amputated at 6 years old and was bound to crutches or a wheelchair.

“We knew kind of early, we were always told that if she got sick she would get sick really quick,” Chuck said. “It came on and it happened quick, just like they said.”

Anna-Saphia needed back surgery in October, and the following months were spent in and out of the hospital. Then in January she was diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a severe, life-threatening syndrome in which excessive immune activation leads to uncontrolled inflammation and tissue damage.

Despite treatment, Anna-Saphia died in May.

“Like she said, ‘I have (stuff) to do.’ If that’s the only way that potentially I can get well, then that’s what I’m doing. But the treatment was just sort of difficult and traumatic,” Lotte said.

Anna-Saphia was also fighting scoliosis, but she held a good quality of life, her family said. She attended countless Lightning games, went sailing in the Greek Isles, aspired to be a model and even made it to the runway at New York Fashion Week.

Despite her challenges, Anna-Saphia always found a way to persevere.

“She didn’t take no for an answer,” her bonus dad, David Hill, said. “If someone said she couldn't do something or she wanted to do something, she would figure out a way to do it.”

Anna-Saphia the super fan and hockey player

The Tampa Bay Lightning and hockey were among Anna-Saphia’s greatest passions, and she never allowed her medical challenges to get in the way, her parents shared.

She attended morning skates and practices to meet players and talk with them, also frequenting fan events.

She attended between 20 to 30 games a season with Lotte, Chuck and David and made many connections. One of the team’s customer service employees, Paul, greeted Anna with a smile and a ‘Hello’ whenever she visited AMALIE Arena and also attended her celebration of life.

Anna-Saphia’s fandom for the sport began alongside her father—Chuck Rogers has been around the team since the early 2000s, serving as one of the boat captains for the team’s annual fishing tournament that is now dubbed Coop’s Catch.

Years later when Ryan Callahan joined the Lightning, the player's family booked a fishing charter with Chuck, and the families are now friends. Anna-Saphia quickly became a Callahan fan.

“She kind of got interested because I’d watch the game for the players who we knew. She got to meet Ryan and a lot of other players throughout the years."

Lotte reached out to the team about 12 years ago because Anna-Saphia wanted to meet her favorite player, former captain Steven Stamkos. He was injured and instead they met Martin St. Louis, but St. Louis made sure she eventually also got the chance to meet Stamkos.

"We did, in fact, come back and meet with Stamkos and Marty, and I think that really lit the fire,” Lotte said of her daughter’s interest in the Lightning.

Anna-Saphia often shared her thoughts about the team on social media, her parents said, a space that allowed the aspiring hockey journalist to connect with other fans.

“It was a big part of her life,” Chuck said, before Lotte jumped in to add:

“She, like most teenagers, spent a lot of time on her phone as one her connections to the world. She referred to a lot of people as her friends…It was her online community.”

Anna-Saphia’s hockey story included some playing experience, too.

She played sled hockey for three years in Clearwater and Wesley Chapel, often being the only young girl on the ice. Her play occasionally included wipeouts that made her parents hold their breath, but she never wavered in her want to play.

“She just loved it,” Lotte said. “She really wasn’t scared of much. She just had a zest for life, you know? She was bold and she didn’t want to fit into a box. She thought, ‘Okay, we don't see a lot of people like myself on the runway or in modeling, so I'm gonna do that. Because why not? I'm gonna play hockey, because why not?’”

Not dissimilar from most Lightning fans, Anna-Saphia enjoyed cheering against the team’s rival Florida Panthers and physical forward Matthew Tkachuk.

Despite her passing, her family says the Lightning and hockey helped their daughter live a full, happy life across her 18 years.

For that, they are thankful.

“I think one of the things that is interesting about her is that she just always saw the light at the end of the tunnel, had that eternal optimism that even if you’re going through hard times, things will get better.”

David recalled one of the last things she said—that she had goals to accomplish and things to do, so she didn’t have time to be sick.

That included hoping for a career in hockey, but the family still holds memories that will be cherished forever, in part thanks to AMALIE Arena.

“Her spirit was truly you only live once, things will get better,” Lotte said. “Just overall, she wanted to fit it all in, and we did.”