TAMPA, Fla. — As the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrated their Stanley Cup win last year, there was someone who was missing — Kim Cannon.

“All of us loved Kim. She was just amazing,” said her friend and co-worker Nick Hand.

Hand worked with Cannon in the mid-2000s for the St. Louis Bandits, a junior hockey team that was then in the North American Hockey League (NAHL).

Their coach back then was none other than current Lightning head coach Jon Cooper.

Cooper worked alongside Cannon to win two championships there between 2003-2008.

She did a little bit of everything for the Bandits, from working in merchandise to eventually becoming the Director of Operations.

“You listen to Cooper talk about Kim, the reason he had so much success on the ice is because Kim was able to make sure that everything was taken care of off the ice,” Hand said.

Last September, Kim was killed in a car accident at the age of 35. 

It was just three weeks before her old friend Jon Cooper and the Lightning won the Stanley Cup.

“Kim getting to drink out of the Cup would have been so special,” Hand said. “It’s really sad that didn’t get to happen.”

Kim was also close with the Lightning’s Pat Maroon, another Bandits alum, who taped his stick in her honor.

Cooper had her name written on the bench.

Now, she’ll be remembered in another way: The NAHL just announced the Kim Cannon internship.

Jon Cooper will help sponsor it.

“It’s to ensure Kim Cannon’s legacy will live on. We can honor her memory and give somebody an opportunity to make an impact on the hockey world and the lives of others in such a positive way like Kim did,” Cooper said in a Twitter video.

Kim started in hockey at just age 19, willing to do whatever it took to help the team succeed.

Now others can pursue the same dream in her name.

“It’s just so fitting that someone is going to learn in Kim’s honor,” Hand said.

The internship is meant for recent college graduates interested in pursuing a career in sports.

It will be an annual commitment by the NAHL. For details, visit http://www.nahl.com/jobs/internship/