Hiroki Wakabayashi: He Betters Goalies as He Battles Cancer

November is "Hockey Fights Cancer" month, and last week, the Coyotes lost a teammate, nine-year-old Leighton Accardo, to Stage Four cancer. Another member of the Valley hockey community, coach Hiroki Wakabayashi, still is fighting the disease.
Hiroki Wakabayashi thought his back pain was common, a malady often silently suffered by hockey coaches and players.
He finally went for an examination. The exam revealed the cause of his pain.
It also revealed a cancer.
Wakabayashi, 48, and the Director of Goaltending for the Jr. Sun Devils Hockey Association, was diagnosed October 2019 with a treatable, but incurable form of cancer. It is nearing remission.

His back pain began in June 2019.
"For a goalie coach, or for any kind of hockey guy, back pain is very, very normal," Wakabayashi said. "So, at first, I was just thinking well, 'No big deal.'"
Despite the pain, Wakabayashi kept skating that summer, working with goalies in multiple camps and teaching private lessons. But the discomfort worsened, to the point where Wakabayashi could no longer skate upright. "At that point, I realized something could be very wrong," he said.

During a private lesson he was giving at Oceanside Arena, a goalie's father, a physician, noticed Wakabayashi's posture, pulled him aside and convinced him to visit his office the next morning for an exam.
"At first he said, 'It's just another case of back pain, maybe just overuse of muscles since you've been on the ice for so many years,'" Wakabayashi said. "Before I left, he suggested we take an x-ray, just in case.
After a few days, the doctor called and said, in a concerned voice, "Hiroki, your spine is broken."
X-rays displayed breaks in 10 different areas. The fractures were caused by weak bone density. Wakabayashi had only 40 percent bone density of a normal male his age, and over time, had lost four inches of height due to the fractures.
Additional tests were prescribed, and blood and urine testing revealed Wakabayashi suffered from bone marrow cancer, multiple myeloma. He began chemotherapy in November 2019.
Wakabayashi continued to coach, though his back pain made it sometimes impossible for him to lace up his skates.
"My back was so bad," he said. "It was getting to the point where I could not bend my back to reach my skate anymore. It was extremely painful."
That November, Wakabayashi

Coyotes "Hockey Fights Cancer" ambassador Leighton Accardo, who skated with the team during warm-ups, stood on the ice for the National Anthem in full equipment, and took the ceremonial opening face-off.
Leighton, who passed away Tuesday, did all of this despite losing use of her left foot and left leg. Coyotes head equipment manager Stan Wilson created a custom skate for Leighton, which included Velcro straps for tightening the boot.
"I remember your Hockey Fights Cancer program from last year, the young girl Leighton, she was wearing the 'Option B Skate Straps' on one of her skates," Wakabayashi said. "I remember watching and saying, 'Hey, that could probably help my back, maybe this can help me lace up my skates much, much easier,' because you only have to use the strap instead of lacing."
He ordered the straps.
"Now I can strap my skates on in like 10 seconds per skate," he said.

Wakabayashi's chemotherapy lasted through July 2020. He was on the ice through March, until it was no longer safe because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I was walking on the ice like a penguin though," he said. "I could barely skate. But instead of sitting around at home doing nothing, I wanted to help out the goalies. So, I decided to keep coming out on the rink and keep skating around like a penguin. It was miserable, but at the same time, it was a good thing for me to get out and do what I love to do."
From March through July, Wakabayashi's stem cell transplant, a common procedure for blood cancer patients, was delayed because of the pandemic. In August, he finally received the transplant. The stem cell transplant overhauls the stem cell system so the body can produce healthy blood.
After staying home for two and a half months, Wakabayashi returned to the ice in November. He had been sidelined for nine months.

"I wanted to do it slowly," he said. "So, I started coming back once a week just to see how it goes, how safe it is to be out there. Obviously, I have to put my mask on all day long when I go out anywhere because my immune system is very compromised with the stem cell transplant. So, I put my mask on in the rink as well, and when I'm on the ice coaching. Now I'm able to come out on the ice three-four days a week to work with the goalies with the Jr. Sun Devils and my private lessons. But the thing is, it's still the pandemic and many teams are cancelling practices pretty much every week. So, I have to be careful."
He understands the reality of his situation.
"The doctors know (the cancer) is coming back, and I know it's coming back," he said. "Sooner or later. When it happens, I'll have to treat it. That's all I can do."

Wakabayashi, well-traveled, considers himself a permanent resident of Arizona. He received his green card in 2015. He resides with his wife, Jun, in Ahwatukee.
He previously lived in Arizona from 2008-12, but once his work visa expired, Wakabayashi spent time in Turkey and Hong Kong, where he coached national teams and goalies. He has coached in eight different countries throughout his 20-plus year coaching career.

Originally from Osaka, Japan, Wakabayashi first skated at age 11. His father worked for the Japanese Ice Hockey Federation during his college days, which eventually led him to working as an interpreter for renowned goalie coach Francois Allaire, the first goalie coach ever for the Montreal Canadiens and the coach credited with developing NHL Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy.
"The Federation decided to invite a goalie coach from Canada in 1992 to prepare for the '98 Nagano Olympics because Japan's hockey team wanted to compete," Wakabayashi said. "(My father) suggested I become Francois' interpreter because I could speak some English. So, that's how I got into coaching, and to tell you the truth, I was never a goalie, I am a forward, but my father told me he's a NHL coach, you can learn from him. I didn't really want to do it, but I just followed his advice, and I became his interpreter for that summer camp."
"(Allaire) was so unique and so ahead of his time, and I fell in love with what I saw. It was a great experience to work with one of the greatest coaches in the world."
Today, Wakabayashi is using all of that accumulated expertise to better young Valley goalies. He also plans to continue running his annual springtime World Hockey Lab camps in Japan, working with kids and pros, including former NHL goalie Yutaka Fukufuji.
Meanwhile, Wakabayashi continues to show his incredible toughness and battle the disease. After all, he's a hockey player.
Those who would like to donate to assist costs associated with Wakabayashi's treatment and recovery can visit the
"Friends of Hiroki"
GoFundMe page.

Photo Credit: All Photos Provided by Hiroki Wakabayashi
\All Photos Taken Prior to COVID-19 Pandemic*