Why this Ottawa youth hockey team has swapped their navy jerseys for pink

When the Ottawa U-13 Blues hit the ice Monday night, they weren't wearing their usual navy. Instead, their jerseys were in a shade a little more eye-catching. The pink's going to be strong tonight for sure. Clary Harris is the team's coach and one of the reasons his players decided to pull on some pink. It made me really emotional, to be honest. So it's fun, it's exciting. The boys are really into it, which is awesome. They're all wearing pink at the rink tonight. They're going to wear their pink jerseys. And seeing them get so invested in it, they're talking about it at school with their friends. Around two years ago, his wife Maryse underwent a double mastectomy in an attempt to prevent the cancer that had claimed the lives of her mother and grandmother. I didn't want to miss out on anything for my children. When my mom passed, my brother was four years old. So over the years, she's unfortunately missed out on most of those big events for him. I'm fortunate enough that I was able to attend them for her. Sure. But all you want really in life is time and so this bought me a little bit of time hopefully. The family says their hockey community huddled around them with warm meals and rides to practice during her recovery. Now they want to help others. Their son Theo is captain of the Blues and says he's happy to wear pink. It makes me really proud of our whole team and what we're raising money for. Goaltender Parker McKay lost his grandfather to cancer and says that's on his mind every time he puts on the special jersey. I normally think of my grandfather and how he couldn't live to see me play. Also, I think of all the people we could be helping in case they do have early stages of cancer. The team has worn its pink jerseys three games so far this season, raising nearly $1,000 to date. Dan Takama, CBC News, Ottawa.