Former WHLer Cole Hamblin, 21, succumbs to cancer

Days like today put hockey into its proper context. It’s just a game. The standings and stats sheets garner a lot of attention during the season, but it’s only the people involved in the game that truly matter when everything is put into perceptive.

Former WHL defenceman Cole Hamblin, who spent time with the Spokane Chiefs and Regina Pats, lost his life today at just 21-years-old following a battle with cancer. This year was supposed to be Hamblin’s first season in the next step of his hockey career with Guelph University, but his life drastically changed on Sept. 22. He found out he had a rare case of cancer called mucoepidermoid carcinoma after suffering from severe pain in his lower back and unexpectedly losing 30 pounds. When the cancer was detected it was already in stage four and had spread to the lymph nodes, spine and multiple other skeletal areas. Since the doctors were unsure of the origin, they could not start the treatment without learning more details first.

The hockey world is reaching out to the family of the St. Adolphe, Man., native. There is a Stronger Than Cancer fund on gofundme.com raising money for the Hamblin family. In addition, the Chiefs held an auction on Nov. 1 with the proceeds directly benefiting their former player’s family. They auctioned off several items such as a Hamblin game-worn jersey, a Wayne Gretzky game-worn signed Chiefs jersey and a Mitch Holmberg signed stick and puck. The Pats, meanwhile, donated all proceeds from a chuck-a-puck contest they held on Oct. 10 to the Hamblin family.

It goes without saying that Hamblin left this world too early. But even though he’s no longer lacing up the skates, his spirit lives on in the game that he once loved.

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen