Local businessman and former Sherwood Park Crusaders owner/GM Kyle Chase may have saved his cancer-stricken brother Kelly with that stem-cell transplant in December.
“He’s doing well so far. He spoke at the Kinsmen dinner in Saskatoon last Friday,” said Kyle of his older brother and former NHLer Kelly, who played 458 games from 1989 to 2000, mainly in the St. Louis Blues organization with stints in Toronto and Hartford, as the ultimate teammate and tough-guy enforcer. Post-hockey, Kelly was colour commentator on St Louis Blues radio broadcasts until 2018.
The sports-celebrity, Beauties and Beasts-themed dinner in Saskatoon was attended by a roster of former players including Brett Hull, Chris Pronger, Chris Chelios, Al MacInnis, Tony Twist and Joey Kocur.
“All the heavyweights were there. They had Hullie’s protection.”
“They actually gave my brother an honorary chairman’s Kinsmen’s jacket because he’s raised so much money in Saskatoon and in Saskatchewan for them. He’s done so much charity work and they recognized that,” said Kyle. “That was very nice.”
“He brought Garth Brooks in to help build a children’s hospital wing at U of S, like a Stollery-type thing here. He’s actually belonged to the Garth Brooks Foundation for the better part of 20 years and he became friends with him. So Garth came in and donated $1 million to Teammates for Kids to help with that,” said Kyle. Kelly was born in Porcupine Plain, Sask., and spent his junior career with the Saskatoon Blades.
As Kyle says, it appears Kelly, who never met a fight he wouldn’t take on as a player, has taken to scrapping hard to beat back his leukemia. He’s out and about, living his life.
“Apart from the Kinsmen dinner, he also flew with the Blues to Utah two weeks ago to do a podcast with Tyson Nash. The fact Kelly’s getting out there and being healthy enough to fly. would suggest he’s on the right path to recovery,” said Kyle, who flew to St. Louis for the stem-cell transplant just before Christmas to assist the long-time Blues’ tough guy and broadcaster.
It’s been a hard ride for Kelly, though.
“He hit a real valley shortly after the stem-cell transplant … the chemo he was taking was so heavy, it almost burned his esophagus and he was having trouble keeping his food down, but his blood count’s where it should be,” said Kyle.
“Now he’s in a good spot and getting stronger by the day. We all know that could change if he gets a cold or the flu. But he’s trying his best to take care of himself. Kelly’s never going to do little, as we know. Wendel Clark said to me one day, ‘You’ve got to tell Kelly to slow down.’ I told Wendel, ‘Yeah, you have that conversation with him,’ ” laughed Kyle.
“You may as well put him in the ground if he can’t do anything. Yeah, good point, Wendel.”
So is there a time period when the doctors say he’s really on his way back?
“I think they feel if he gets past 90 to 100 days, then he’s in a pretty good spot. We’re at 45 days now so he’s halfway home,” said Kyle, who knows about stem-cell transplants.
Former Oilers equipment manager Barrie Stafford, who was with the club for 38 years, was hit with multiple myeloma and needed a stem-cell transplant in 2011. He was in remission until 2022, got on a clinical trial with Dr. Michael Chu, and is fine today.
“Look at Barrie Stafford. He’s the longest-serving stem-cell transplant in Alberta. The reality is if we can have that, we’ll be pretty happy.”
“The other part is you have to take care of yourself. As best that Kelly can, he’s trying to maintain his health and not going to every event he’s asked to go to. He’s asked to do a lot of public speaking and he’s good at it but it’s the travel and the preparing for it. It’s exhausting and he doesn’t want to do it half way,” said Kyle.
This ‘n that: Sam Gagner has three assists in five games on his pro tryout with Ottawa’s AHL team in Belleville. The ex-Oilers forward, who captained Canada’s Spengler Cup team over Christmas in Davos, is clearly hoping to get a contract before the March 7 trade deadline. “Been lots of fun so far. I’m enjoying it,” said Gagner, 35, who chose Belleville because it’s close to where his wife and three kids are decamped. He also still has the fire to play. “Yeah, exactly,” he said. … Oilers farm-team centre Lane Pederson, a strong AHL player, is done for the season with shoulder surgery, a big blow for Bakersfield’s push for a playoff spot. “That kills us. Not having him and Noah (Philp),” said Keith Gretzky, the Oilers assistant GM who looks after the AHL club … It could be an interesting summer for the Oilers, who have to see if Boston University captain Shane Lachance, whose defenceman/dad Scott played 819 NHL games, maybe wants to turn pro in Bakersfield after his sophomore season. The 6-foot-5 winger, who played on the same line as Sharks rookie Macklin Celebrini last season, has 24 points in 25 games for powerhouse BU right now. The Oilers might not want Lachance getting a third year in school because if their sixth-round 2021 draft pick, say, doesn’t want to sign with them then but wants to come out of school, other NHL teams will be circling. He can test the waters as a free agent (they take three school years plus time in the USHL) … That last summer trade between the Oilers and Ottawa, with forward Xavier Bourgault going to the Senators and winger Roby Jarventie here, has been a dud. Bourgault has 13 points in 38 games in the AHL in Belleville and hasn’t gained any more traction in his new organization than he did in Bakersfield. And Jarventie hasn’t played for months with a knee issue. Just two games on the farm, and he might need surgery as well. They are waiting on that decision. “Everybody thought he (Bourgault) was better than he was. Just because you get drafted, first-round, third, whatever, they don’t develop. They’re not what you think,” said Keith Gretzky. “I think Jarventie has a chance still (to be an NHLer). We’re looking at the big picture, not tomorrow,” he said. … Bakersfield right-shot defenceman Max Wanner, who blocked a shot in December in Toronto, is close to returning. “It’s not a concussion but it’s close to one. It hit the back of his head. It’s really weird,” said Gretzky. Winger Matvey Petrov, out with a concussion, may play soon, as well. “That was elbow to his head.” … The Oilers seventh-round pick in the 2023 draft, centre Matt Copponi, is a senior teammate of Lachance’s at BU after transferring from Merrimack College. The Oilers have yet to make a call on whether they want to sign him.
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