The coldest time of year can’t dampen the warm-heartedness of a Franklin girl who is organizing an event Saturday to encourage a hockey and 1970s pop culture icon who is recovering from surgery.
Castibelle Schweinfurth, 8, and her family will set up a table at Iron Furnace Coffee from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday during Franklin On Ice, where anyone can stop and write or drop off a note of support to Steve Carlson.
Carlson, a former National Hockey League player and one of the iconic Hanson Brothers from the 1977 movie “Slap Shot,” is recovering from cancer and surgery.
Bret discovered that Carlson, who currently lives in Johnstown where much of “Slap Shot” was filmed, had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and an experimental drug he was on was hurting him.
Bret said his daughter, who was 6 or 7 at the time, hadn’t seen the R-rated film, but she got curious when she noticed her father getting emotional about Carlson, so Bret showed her some movie clips.
Carlson later reached out and told them that Castibelle’s message really lifted his spirits and made his treatment “bearable,” and they’ve since become friends, the Schweinfurths said.
They added that Carlson is now cancer-free, but the chemo and radiation treatments ruined the bone structure of his jaw and teeth and he recently had to have 17 teeth removed.
Castibelle wanted to help again, and so the family decided to organize the support table for folks to send notes of encouragement during Carlson’s recovery.
Castibelle hopes that “Mr. Steve will feel a lot better, and these people who are reaching out to him will help him through,” she said.
Carlson scored nine goals while playing for the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL, and he is one of only six players to ever be on a team with Gordie Howe and a team with Wayne Gretzky. He was Gretzky’s roommate when they both played for Edmonton in the World Hockey Association.
