A long-time Pittsburgh Penguins fan … Eric Naughton grew up in Erie, Pa. and owes his love of hockey to his father, but not necessarily on purpose. As this Penguins’ article notes, in 1986, his dad installed an aerial antenna to pick up the Canadian broadcasts of the FIFA World Cup. Naughton was a soccer player growing up, but that antenna also attracted telecasts of Hockey Night in Canada. Later, when Naughton attended Penn State University, his passion for the game grew, being surrounded by fans of the Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers.
… who found out he had Hodgkin’s disease … Upon graduation, he worked in the film industry, which brought him first to Washington D.C., then Los Angeles. But his devotion to the Penguins remained, even while in other cities (something yours truly can relate to as a Detroit fan who’s spent most of his life thousands of miles from Michigan). A few years ago, a lump on his collarbone meant a trip to the doctor, and after having it tested, doctors determined he had Stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. As this Yahoo Sports article reports, the cancer was also in his neck and chest. Following months of treatment, he had recovered, but it had also made him realize the importance of pursuing his dream.
… now, at 40, plans to realize his dream of playing hockey. Initially, Naughton wanted to somehow work in sports, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he actually wanted to play sports — hockey, specifically. He decided to make both pursuits happen at the same time. Last October, on his 40th birthday, he started skating with a guy who played in the Pens’ minor league system, training so he eventually could be part of the annual Penguins Adult Fantasy Camp this coming February, where he’ll play with and against former Penguins players. Along with training, Naughton also was videotaping the whole process, to put together a documentary called Life, Cancer and the Pursuit of Hockey with proceeds going toward both NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer and the Mario Lemieux Foundation. He’s even self-producing the film, so he can release it in October 2011 during Hockey Fights Cancer month. You can view the trailer below and learn more about the movie at the Facebook page.
Screengrab by EricJNaughton via YouTube.