Hockey Fights Cancer | Sly the survivor
The general opinion of most throughout the hockey world is that Sylvain Couturier is a good man. But if you were prepared to dust off the old adage “You have to be lucky to be good”, you’d be well advised to reverse that saying. Because Couturier considers himself a lucky man, twice over.
In a span of three years, Couturier had twice been diagnosed with cancer. First, he successfully overcame kidney cancer in 2017. Then, in the spring of 2020, he found himself battling prostate cancer. In recounting his double defeat of the disease, the former Laval Titan star and pro player turned QMJHL GM is straightforward in how he views his situation.
“To be honest, I think I was lucky in both cases,” Couturier explains. “(The first time) they just removed the kidney. When they caught it, there was no need to go through chemo. Same with the prostate cancer.”
When Couturier, partway through a 20-year stint with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at the time, started rapidly losing weight and experiencing cold night sweats back in 2017, he contacted his doctor, who knew right away something was wrong.
“They said based on my symptoms that they were pretty sure it was cancer but it took a second MRI before they found it,” Couturier recalls. “They sent my results from Bathurst to Moncton and after going over everything, my doctor told me it was kidney cancer.”
The tumour virtually enveloped Couturier’s kidney. Surgery was not only required; it was a priority. At the time, being placed on a priority list for such a procedure in New Brunswick meant a wait time of roughly 3-4 months. That was time the former Los Angeles Kings center couldn’t afford.
“Because of the size of the tumour and the symptoms, they said they’d bump me up the list,” he remembers. “I ended up getting a call from my doctor the next day to tell me, if I was ready, they could do the surgery the next week. Within a few weeks, I was back (to my usual routine) but it was a close call.”
It wouldn’t be the last one.
In the spring of 2020, the World was rocked – not to mention locked – by COVID-19. Since his successful victory over kidney cancer, Couturier added another triumph, this one at the 2018 Memorial Cup, to his list of life achievements. But in April of that first pandemic year, he picked up on what would prove to be the early symptoms of prostate cancer. This time, he used a literal lifeline for assistance.
“The recommendation from my doctor in Bathurst was to go through chemo and with that, I could go 5-10 years before needing to get the prostate removed,” Couturier says. “Luckily, I was talking to my son (former Drummondville Voltigeurs and current Philadelphia Flyers star) Sean. (For medical treatments), the Flyers were connected to Penn State, who are specialists in cancer treatment. I asked my doctor if I could get a second opinion.”
“I sent all of my info to Sean, who forwarded it to a specialist at Penn State,” he goes on to recollect. “The specialist didn’t know why they wouldn’t remove the prostate right away anyway, especially considering my cancer diagnosis from three years earlier. Why wait and risk the chances of it spreading? Plus, by removing it right away, chemo wouldn’t be required. I decided to have my prostate removed. My doctor in Bathurst was very understanding.”
Make it two-for-two for the man universally known inside and outside the hockey world as Sly.
Couturier’s doctor in Bathurst was indeed understanding. But that was just one aspect of the community that left the now 55-year-old thankful. Though he left Bathurst for Cape Breton to become GM of the Eagles in 2022, Couturier still warmly remembers how the city he brought a championship to rallied around him.
“Honestly, I think that’s the best part of being part of a smaller community like Bathurst or even here in Sydney,” he claims. “People rally behind you and want to help out any way they can. I really felt the support of everyone. I remember after I came out of the hospital with kidney cancer, the first game back at the rink, the players were waiting with a puck from their last road game. They had dedicated the game to me. It was very touching. It’s nice to feel that kind of support.”
The hockey world still remembers Sly’s plight. Rival Coaches and GM’s and members of the scouting community still ask him about his health to this day. Couturier reiterates the level of respect and care people throughout the hockey world hold for one another, even if those feelings can take a backseat in the heat of battle. It’s a scenario his Eagles are currently facing with one of its own. When forward Jacob Newcombe was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Couturier, among many others, was stunned.
“When I got diagnosed the first time, I was 48 years old,” he explains. “I considered myself as having a decent career in hockey as a player, coach and GM. But to find out the news about Jacob, at that young age, hit me as hard or harder (than my own diagnosis). It was a shock for sure. Knowing Jacob, I knew he would fight this. But still, to find out at 18 that you have cancer, I was trying to put myself in his shoes. I can’t imagine what was going through his head. At first, you may not want to deal with it but you know you have to.”
The way Couturier dealt with his own situations draws parallels between the game and his approach to overcoming both of his health scares.
“You’re never prepared enough to hear you have cancer, even if you’re told to expect it, like I was the first time,” he points out. “For me, it was preparation. You always hear that it’s a big fight but still, I consider myself lucky. Today, I consider myself healthy. I’m a little more careful with my health than I used to be. But really, the mentality is much like what we do in hockey. You need to be prepared and ready. That was always my approach.”
The hockey world, as well as the Couturier family, are also lucky to have a man of such resolve among them.
