The Province

Former Giant thinking about his legacy

Junior team to honour player who had to sacrifice his NHL career to save his own life

- J.J. ADAMS jadams@postmedia.com

If 28-year-old Arizona Coyotes scout Craig Cunningham was to file a report on 16-yearold Vancouver Giants rookie Craig Cunningham, it would be pretty short.

“I’d say he probably wasn’t very good, but he worked hard,” laughed the former Giants standout.

“‘This kid’s got a long way to go if he’s going to play at the next level.’ That’s probably what I’d say.”

It is, however, an accurate, if blunt self-assessment. His rookie year of 2006-07, he played in 48 games and scored a grand total of zero goals.

“Let’s not bring that up, all right? I got over that,” he said, laughing.

Cunningham would end up playing 295 regular-season games for the G-men, second-most in the team’s history behind Neil Manning (310). Three years later, he put up 37 goals and 60 assists and narrowly lost out to Jordan Eberle in the Western Hockey League’s MVP race.

Being third all-time on the team’s scoring list (86 goals, 22 points) and playing NHL hockey for the Boston Bruins and Coyotes would be reason enough for his name being added to the team’s Wall of Honour before Sunday’s game against the Tri-City Americans at the Langley Events Centre.

But his story is a much deeper, much richer tale.

On Nov. 16, 2016, while lining up for the opening faceoff for the Tucson Roadrunner­s against the Manitoba Moose, the Trail native’s heart stopped cold.

His Lazarus tale had begun. “I watched my son die right in front of my eyes,” his mother, Heather Cunningham, told the Arizona Daily Star’s Jon Gold in an incredible accounting of the immediate minutes, days and weeks that followed.

“There was not a doubt in my mind. I thought he was gone. From the minute he hit the ice I could tell there was something not right. The waiting was awful. It was the worst. The doctors coming, going, not coming back. Every time they enter the room, you’re like, ‘Is he still here or he didn’t make it?’ It was horrifying.”

Cunningham did make it, but not without a steep cost.

Faced with a worsening infection in his left leg, he was forced into a literal life-or-limb decision. Amputate his lower leg, or likely die. He chose life.

It was the death hockey career.

“My state of mind wasn’t quite as clear as it is now. I was still at a point where I still had a lot of medication running through my veins … but ultimately, it was an easy decision,” he said. “What choice did I have? Do I gamble and hope that it heals and the infection goes away? At that point, my leg was so damaged, it was likely that I’d only ever get 10 per cent of function back — if anything. To me, it was an easy decision.

“The aftermath … has been a lot harder. You’ve got time to think about things, and adjusting to the prosthetic, and learning to live my life without any handcuffs.”

It’s been just over two years since he collapsed on the ice at the Tucson Arena. He can still skate; not with the grace and fluidity of a former NHLer, but the awkward stride of a man who has lost a leg, but not his determinat­ion.

“This is the card that I’ve been dealt, and you have to play the hand that you have,” he said. “I miss playing every single day. Every day at the rink, I want to get my skates back on. I still have that itch to play. I would have loved to keep playing, but at the end of the day … what I think about is what kind of a legacy am I going to leave behind? What kind of effect are you going to have on people?

“To me, that’s the important legacy.”

Along with Dr. Zain Khalpey, the surgeon who saved his life with a radical and still experiment­al procedure, Cunningham has started the All Heart Foundation, which is aimed at developing technology to prevent sudden cardiac events. He’s raised tens of thousands for the cause himself, and others, from ex and current pros, have chipped in. His brother Ryan rode his bicycle 2,600 kilometres from Trail to Tucson for the charity. Landon Ferraro, a childhood friend and fellow NHL alumni, is helping the cause with a campaign while he plays for the Iowa Wild.

The Coyotes signed him to a two-year scouting contract, where Cunningham follows his next greatest passion — outside cardiac awareness — helping find those missed players, the ones like him, who were trying to make their NHL dreams come true.

Sitting in the lobby of a San Diego hotel while sipping a soda with a lemon wedge, Cunningham was philosophi­cal about his future. It’s a natural byproduct of surviving the ordeal he did.

“It’s been a different experience, kind of a quick transition to — as the players call it — ‘the dark side,’” he chuckled. “It’s a learning curve, obviously, whenever you start something new. The biggest thing for me is to keep your mouth shut and your ears open, listen and learn as much as you can about the business.

“There are so many different roles and ways you can contribute in the game, and I’m just trying to figure out where I fit best.”

For now — and especially Saturday at the Pacific Coliseum, where the Giants take on the Americans (7 p.m.) and then Sunday in Langley (4 p.m.) — his place is being honoured by his former junior team.

“From the top of (the Giants) organizati­on to the bottom, the biggest thing that stands out to me is they put the person first and the player second,” said Cunningham. “To me, when I look back now and see that, not a lot of places do that. It’s very special.

“Right from when I was 15 until now, they’ve been there for me every day. It’s been awesome to be able to form those relationsh­ips and keep them.”

 ?? GERRY KAHRMANN/PNG ?? Craig Cunningham will be honoured Sunday by his former junior team when the Vancouver Giants take on the TriCity Americans at the Langley Events Centre..
GERRY KAHRMANN/PNG Craig Cunningham will be honoured Sunday by his former junior team when the Vancouver Giants take on the TriCity Americans at the Langley Events Centre..

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