PHILADELPHIA — Oskar Lindblom tapped his heart and waved to the crowd at Wells Fargo Center. The fans couldn’t hear him cheering, but the gesture was his way of letting them know how he felt.
“I was trying to tell them they’ve meant so much to me during my time here and I just wanted to show my love to them,” he said.
Lindblom, in his first season with the San Jose Sharks, was honored with a video tribute during the first period of the Sharks’ 3-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.
Philadelphia bought out the final season of Lindblom’s contract on July 12. He signed a two-year contract with the Sharks the next day.
“I didn’t know they had a video,” Lindblom said. “It was good. Emotional. Just the passion they have and the love they show for me, it’s incredible.”
Lindblom became a fan favorite in Philadelphia because of his fight against Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of bone cancer. He was diagnosed with the disease in December 2019 but returned to play two games during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Since then he’s remained healthy, and made sure his doctors in San Jose have stayed in touch with the doctors who treated him at Abramson Cancer Center at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.
“I talked to my two doctors a couple of days ago, just to see how they’re doing,” he said. “So it’s good, still have them here taking care of me. … They were great to me so I don’t really want to change them.”
Lindblom said he remains on the path toward remission.
“I had one [scan] in the summer that looked good,” he said. “I’m going to have one in the next couple of weeks, I think. We’re getting there, one by one.”
Lindblom had one shot on goal in 13:11 of ice time but said it took him some time to get into the game.
“The first period, I wasn’t really there,” he said. “I couldn’t get going really, my mind was just all over the place. But after the first one, I felt pretty good. It was fun.”
Sharks coach David Quinn was happy to hear the ovation Lindblom received.
“It was special,” he said. “I’ve only been around him for a short period of time, but I certainly understand why people feel about him the way they do. Not a better human being, I certainly have come to that quick conclusion. … Not surprised with the way the Philadelphia fan base reacted to him. It’s a fan base that’s hard on the opponents but certainly passionate about the teams they have here. He means an awful lot to the hockey community and in particular the Philadelphia hockey community.”
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