Mandi Schwartz

On April 3, 2011 former Yale player Mandi Schwartz succumbed to recurrent acute myeloid leukemia at age 23. She was a forward for the Yale Bulldogs women's ice hockey team and had a string of 73 consecutive games played.

Playing career
Before heading to Yale, she played girls' hockey for the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox and graduated in 2006. Schwartz won a bronze medal with Team Saskatchewan at 2003 Canada Games

Struggle with cancer
On Dec. 8, 2008, Schwartz was diagnosed with cancer. Mandi received a stem cell transplant in September 2010 at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. A biopsy in December 2010 revealed the cancer had returned. Yale has named it annual marrow donor registry drive in Mandi's honor.

Awards and honors

 * 2006-07 ECAC Hockey All-Academic
 * 2007-08 ECAC Hockey All-Academic
 * 2008-09 ECAC Hockey All-Academic

Personal
Her brother Jaden Schwartz was the St. Louis Blues' 2010 first-round draft pick. Another brother, Rylan played hockey for Colorado College in the NCAA. She was engaged to engineering student Kaylem Prefontaine and they had planned a wedding for the summer of 2012. Mandi's parents, Carol and Rick Schwartz, travelled from Saskatchewan to Tampa to be a part of the 2012 Hockey Humanitarian Award ceremony. They presented winner Aleca Hughes with a donation to the Mandi Schwartz Foundation. Of note, a hockey card was also produced honoring Schwartz's life. Upper Deck issued a game worn jersey card (the jersey was donated by her parents) numbered GWJ-MS, with an image of Schwartz on the front.

Mandi Schwartz Award
In April 2011, the Yale Bulldogs introduced the Mandi Schwartz Award. The award is given in acknowledgement of a Yale Bulldog player’s courage, grit and determination. Aleca Hughes was named as the first winner of the award.