I have such a nice memory of Brad: hockey is personal in a small town

I was raised in Saskatchewan where hockey rules. 


It's personal. It's right in front of you. you know most everyone on the ice. you know from an early age which way you shoot - (I shoot left.) I listened to my brothers and folks cheering endlessly. pushing snow off the slough for pond hockey birthday parties - to hockey in the loft, basement, hallway, yard - to floor hockey every lunch recess through the cold winter - to endless hockey games of two (and sometimes three brothers), my friends, relatives and home-town teams - to going to hockey games for a date all through highschool. 


it's a part of the culture in a small town. a social event. everyone's there. the smells. the sounds. the cheers at refs. you want one of the old guys inside the glass to comment on someone you know so you can be "in the know". maybe see women smacking each other with their purses because their sons are fighting on the ice. you want to drink your coke through your red licorice and buy chalky lollies and go over and catch up on the curling during the intermissions. you know the refs. and the guy hitting the goal light during a high stakes game. you want Mr. Sharp to nod at you one more time as he starts scraping the ice.


it's a thrill for a tiny community to have a hometown hero to cheer for - it's what stories are made of -  but if they made it on the ice, that was a very big deal. - other Saskatchewn and other Dodsland kids made it - Don Gillen and Bob Hoffmeyer.  And Brad McCrimmon, born in Dodsland and raised in Plenty, did too. I remember where I was when the call came in on my friend's folks' phone - He'd made it. It was on the news. His brother Kelly following close behind. 


My grandma, mom's mom, was a sports fanatic - pitched fastball (against mens teams) while going to collegiate in Saskatoon in 1922.  Grandma Corscadden loved curling too - but I'd wager she loved hockey the most. When she retired to Star Court in Saskatoon she had one of the first TV's with earplugs so she could sit in the dark on game nights and watch and listen to the game (and avoid the ladies knocking on her door to play cards because "there was nothing on TV but the game"). She wagered against my brothers - knew the players and the game.


After hearing the tragic news of the downed aircraft in Russia, Mom emailed us all. 


there's a long ago sadness when people gather their stories to honour and celebrate those we've known. And, there's this thing when you grow up in a small town - every mother there and every father there - in the village - who knew you - still holds you dear. Still "knows you" for how you have treated them. believes in you. there's a proprietary notion about all the children who've come from the community - they remember that thing about you. 


It's true folks will never forget how you made them feel - and so when the texts come in asking if I knew him - knew Brad  - I say yes - his farm was a mile from my boyfriend's farm; my friend dated Kelly his brother; you try to connect. you want to help connect the people and complete the picture of a life lived. a life that meant so much to so many.


we crave connection to community. to the caring. we want to remember the tiniest of details to remind ourselves of days when we were closer. we remember the one fingered wave from the top of the steering wheel as we drove by - knowing that it was someone we knew in the truck heading through the coulee the other way. 


I had pokes and likes and notes from folks from "home" yesterday - (although I've been gone 30 years 'Dodsland, Plenty, Kerrobert, Kindersley' is where I call home) - just a nudge to remind each other that we think of each other fondly. and often. I look at the photos on the websites and think - man, Brad looks like his Dad....and i say a little thank you to technology for letting us share just for the briefest moments how it used to be. and perhaps, how it still is, in our hearts.


My mom wrote after Dad heard the lunch newscast - "I have such a nice memory of Brad when he brought the Stanley Cup to Dodsland.  Grandma C was there and we took a picture of her and Brad.  He was such a sweetheart - seemed totally thrilled that she had cheered for him and was such a hockey fan!  Sure won Grandma's heart that day!"  


Let's take a moment to honour those that steal our hearts. and keep Brad's family and community in your hearts tonight.