New fund aims to lower some barriers that keep young athletes benched

This might paint a familiar picture for some hockey families.

Seven-year-old Leo Knott from Cape Breton wants to be a hockey player when he grows up. 

Just before 8 a.m. on a recent day, he was at MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown — yes, it required a road trip — with his dad Jason Knott. Kids were playing mini sticks loudly in the hallway. Leo tied his skates, taped his stick, put on his helmet and got ready for his game. 

"I came here for the Oyster Cup," said Leo. "It's a hockey tournament." 

Leo has played hockey most of his life and wears number 87, just like Sidney Crosby. His dad said he's a pretty good player, with a lot of fight in him both on the ice and off. 

He has needed it.

"My son was diagnosed at four years old with a type of rare cancer," said Knott. "We thought we were out of the woods. We got to spend a year in remission and then [after] a regular check-up, we came back and the cancer came back." 

Knott said Leo is still in treatment. That means the family sometimes has to travel to the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, paying for hotels, gas and food on the way. 

"It gets pretty costly," said Knott. "The last year of treatment, it was one week every three weeks. So adding hotel and food for a whole week away, it's like taking a vacation every month."

A new endeavour on P.E.I. called the Andrews Dream Big Assist Fund wants to help with situations like these. 

The fund is managed by the non-profit Andrews Island Alliance, which is affiliated with Andrews Hockey Growth Programs. The goal is to take away barriers that stop young people from playing the sports they love, ranging from financial assistance to accessibility. 

"Leo and his family were going through a hard time over the last couple of years," said Josh Andrews, the president of Andrews Hockey Growth Programs International. 

"We just felt it was an opportunity for us to help and to contribute and to help make their life a little bit easier."

The Knott family received $16,200 through the Andrews Dream Big Assist Fund last year to help ease the financial stress associated with Leo's medical treatment.