Five-year-old Kaylin Lee was scheduled to ring the bell at center ice at American Airlines Center on Tuesday, marking the end of a cancer battle that began when she was just 3 years old. The North Texas girl, a survivor of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, was the guest of honor as the Dallas Stars hosted their annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night against the Colorado Avalanche.
Kaylin's appearance came after she completed more than two years of treatment and rang a bell on Sept. 23 to signal she was cancer-free, according to nhl.com. The league described her as “a bright, joyful 5-year-old B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) survivor from North Texas” who began her treatment journey at just 3 years old.
Ahead of the game, the Stars gave Kaylin and her father a behind-the-scenes look at American Airlines Center, including a tour of the locker room, according to WFAA. She also met several Stars players.
Bell-Ringing Moment Capped Off the Night
Bell-Ringing Was Planned for Hockey Fights Cancer Night The planned centerpiece of the evening was Kaylin's bell-ringing at center ice, intended to signify the end of her cancer treatment. The NHL’s announcement said she would be “attending morning skate to meet the team and ringing the bell at center ice for the game,” with the Stars and Avalanche facing off at American Airlines Center.
On the ice, the night didn't go the Stars' way competitively — the Colorado Avalanche defeated Dallas 3-2, per the same account from nhl.com. But for Kaylin and her family, the outcome of the game was secondary to the recognition of her recovery in front of a home crowd gathered for a cause that touches many in the arena.
A Season-Long Campaign Across the League
Kaylin's moment at center ice was part of a much larger effort. Hockey Fights Cancer is returning for another NHL season with participation from all 32 teams, and the campaign is investing $100,000 in cancer research alongside the V Foundation as part of its Frozen Frenzy initiative, the league reports. Over the past three seasons, the program has awarded 42 research grants across a wide range of cancer types in 22 NHL markets.
The financial scale of the effort has grown substantially: Hockey Fights Cancer raised $9.1 million during the 2025-26 season, with more than $4.6 million of that total earmarked for cancer research, according to nhl.com's reporting on the campaign. For families like Kaylin's, those dollars translate into research that could shape treatment for the next generation of young patients facing the same diagnosis.
Kaylin fought acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The National Cancer Institute notes that the five-year survival rate for the disease has improved significantly since 1975, and that treatment for ALL typically spans 1.5 to 3 years — a timeline consistent with the roughly two years Kaylin spent in treatment before ringing her bell last month.
