Alexis Gravel's new haircut is not a fashion choice.
The Halifax Mooseheads goalie usually wears his hair long but unveiled a shaved head when he took his mask off for the national anthem prior to Friday's game at the Scotiabank Centre. It was a striking difference and it turns out it was Gravel's way of being there for a man who has become very close to him.
Gravel's billet father, Phil O'Hara, told him a week ago he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, gutting the 19-year-old and leaving him feeling helpless. To deal with the news, one of the first things Gravel did was to get clipped, along with teammate Jason Horvath who also lives under O'Hara's roof.
"Hair grows back and I just wanted to show him I had his back and he has my support," Gravel said. "He found out on December 18th but since we were leaving for Christmas break and his son was having a wedding he didn't want to announce it. I got the news (seven) days ago. He kept it from us but then he told me and Jason. It was tough. You don't expect that.
"He's a vegetarian, he bikes a lot and he goes to the U.S. and even to the Netherlands to go on biking trips. He takes good care of himself so it's really unfortunate and I wanted to help him in some way."
The hairstyle change was only the first show of support from Gravel, who has lived with O'Hara and his wife Janet in their Dartmouth home for the past two seasons. Gravel also launched a $5,000 GoFundMe campaign and is already more than halfway to his goal.
"I'm really happy with that," he said. "At first I didn't know what to expect but people have been so generous. We've got $2,500 so far and that's huge. I wasn't expecting that much that fast. I couldn't be more grateful.
"Some journalists have shared it and the Mooseheads too. We're going to Victoriaville this weekend and TVA Sports wants to do an interview to help with it. Getting publicity like that really helps. Phil is such a great man and he deserves the help. He's a great human and such a good billet dad. I couldn't ask for more from him so I'm really happy people have his back."
Gravel's grandmother took on cancer - and won - when he was a kid but he said he was too young to appreciate what she went through. Now that he's old enough to understand what is at stake for O'Hara, Gravel said it hits home just as hard as if it were a blood relative.
"People don't always understand the relationship you have with your billets," Gravel said. "My family is 10 hours from here so they're far away and this is like my second family. He's a dad to me and he treats me like a son. It might be hard for people to understand if they didn't live it but we are really tight."
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