Everyone loves a comeback story. When the comeback is conquering cancer, everyone loves the story even more. Philadelphia Flyers’ forward Oskar Lindblom can tell a story of his own.
Through 30 games in the 2019–2020 NHL season, Lindblom proved himself as a top player, scoring 11 goals and 18 points. But, diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma bone cancer last December, Lindblom was forced to miss the rest of the season. Support poured in from not only the city of Philadelphia but cities and players across the National Hockey League. The hashtags #OskarStrong and #HockeyFightsCancer trended on Twitter in response to Lindblom’s difficult situation.
For the 24 year-old Swedish forward, the road to recovery was often difficult. Lindblom appreciated the massive amounts of love and support from his Flyers’ teammates. He said they would call and text him and on the days when life felt terrible, his boys were there to lift him back up.
Lindblom’s treatments didn’t hold him back from rejoining his Flyers for their modified 2020 postseason. In July, Lindblom returned to the ice days after finishing his cancer treatment at Pennsylvania Hospital. He made his return to the ice in September, when he played in Game 6 of the Flyers’ series against the New York Islanders. He helped the flyers to a 5–4 double OT victory and was a perfect fill in for the absences of key forwards Sean Couturier and Joel Farabee.
Despite the constant bad news of 2020, there was one piece of good news for Oskar Lindblom in December. About a year after his diagnosis, Lindblom was declared cancer free. The battle against this rare form of bone cancer was finally coming to a close. Lindblom, now locked in with the Flyers for three years at $9 million, will look to make more of an impact both in the heart of Philly hockey and on the ice at Wells Fargo Center. With their inspiring story of recovery and determination, Lindblom and Philadelphia continue to stay #OskarStrong.
Sources:CBS Sports, NBC Sports, NHL, SportsNet
Will Cunningham 
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