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Saying goodbye to Alex Paquette was the most difficult moment of Tony Iob’s life.
Yet, there is someone in the Iob household hurting worse — Iob’s own son, Cameron, who called Paquette his best friend.
“It hurts to see my son in so much pain,” Iob said, his voice faltering, a week after Paquette’s death in a car crash near Burnstown. Paquette’s funeral was held in Renfrew on Friday.
Cameron Iob, like Paquette, is 18. A goaltender for the Ottawa West Golden Knights, Cameron plays in the same CCHL Tier 2 league as Paquette’s Renfrew Timberwolves. The two were teammates on minor hockey teams in Renfrew, with Tony Iob as their coach. Cameron, with a Paquette No. 88 sticker on his helmet and “Alex Forever” etched on his goal stick, has a game Saturday, but plays with a heavy heart.
“It’s going to be a tough weekend for him,” said Iob, currently head coach of the Jr. A Navan Grads.
This week, Cameron wrote a poignant Instagram message to Paquette that Alex surely received on his heavenly account.
“You’ve been there for me from the start, pushing for me to be better . . .” said Cameron. “The only reason I am where I am in hockey today is because you told me never give up on my dreams . . That’s why anytime I set foot on the ice it’s for you, big guy. Love you, Package, till I see you again.” #WolfPackStrong.
Goaltender Cameron Iob is seated next to Alex Paquette in a team photo.
Paquette’s funeral and cremation marked the second recent untimely passing for the Timberwolves junior hockey club and the Ottawa Valley. On Wednesday, Brandon Hanniman was buried near Cobden. Both 18-year-olds died from injuries suffered in an Oct. 27 crash on Calabogie Road. Two others survived the crash. Ben Scheuneman has been in critical condition — Renfrew OPP had no update on him on Friday afternoon. Jake McGrimmon is out of hospital.
On Friday, Paquette’s family and friends focused on the bright light that radiated from this 5-8 bundle of energy.
“Full of life. Always going,” says Iob, who knew or coached all four boys involved in the crash, but especially Paquette, a cog on spring and regular season teams coached by Iob.
“I was introduced to him as ‘Package.’ He had these crazy legs and . . . he would just go.
“I could put him on any time in any situation. If he fell down, he’d just get back up and keep going. He worked his ass off. He wanted to make every coach proud and he led by example.”
A Renfrew kid himself who had a fine OHL junior career as a forward with Kingston and Sault Ste Marie, Iob was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres and played 18 professional seasons, mostly in Europe. In 2006, Canada’s Olympic hockey team played an Italian squad that featured a 35-year-old Iob on the roster. He scored four points in the tournament. “This my Stanley Cup,” Iob said at the time.
The father of a boy and a girl, Iob returned to Renfrew from Europe in 2009. Cameron was 10, and quickly latched onto Paquette.
“He was his first friend, his confidante, and he’s been around ever since,” Iob says. Cameron and Alex were teammates with the Upper Ottawa Valley Aces, and though the Iobs live in Stittsville now, and the boys were on rival junior teams, Cameron would go back to Renfrew on weekends to stay with Alex.
“He’s a big part of your life that’s been taken away,” Iob says. “It’s surreal.”
Alex made everyone laugh. Iob would drive the boys to their practices and games, with Alex entertaining from the back seat. Like every car-pooling group, they spent hours and hours in cars.
One day, “Package” looked up at Iob’s reflection in the rearview mirror and said, “Hey, coach, how do you get your hair like that? It’s always slicked back nice.”
Iob said, “Well, you’ve got to work on it a little. Put some gel in there and slick it back.”
Sure enough, the next time he picked up Alex, there he was, with hair shine Elvis Presley could appreciate. Slicked back, and he never looked back.
Last Saturday, when Alex was in hospital, in the final hours of life, his former coach walked in to say goodbye. The first thing he saw – Alex’s hair, groomed to perfection.
“Your hair looks good, kid,” Iob thought to himself.
They were all Renfrew kids, Iob included, at one time. Iob was playing peewee and bantam hockey, and would see those Jr. B Timberwolves and dream of being one himself. He would go on to play in a Memorial Cup tournament against Hall of Fame defenceman Scott Niedermayer, but local boys think local.
“I looked up to the Jr. B’s as the only hockey team there was,” Iob says. “I played with them when I was 16, I left and came back and coached them (for three seasons).
“It’s always going to be a part of people who played there.”
Even for those who die too young.
Alex Paquette and Brandon Hanniman are forever Wolves.
“Life is too short,” Iob says. “Enjoy it. You just never know.”
wscanlan@postmedia.com
twitter/@hockeyscanner
查看原文...
Yet, there is someone in the Iob household hurting worse — Iob’s own son, Cameron, who called Paquette his best friend.
“It hurts to see my son in so much pain,” Iob said, his voice faltering, a week after Paquette’s death in a car crash near Burnstown. Paquette’s funeral was held in Renfrew on Friday.
Cameron Iob, like Paquette, is 18. A goaltender for the Ottawa West Golden Knights, Cameron plays in the same CCHL Tier 2 league as Paquette’s Renfrew Timberwolves. The two were teammates on minor hockey teams in Renfrew, with Tony Iob as their coach. Cameron, with a Paquette No. 88 sticker on his helmet and “Alex Forever” etched on his goal stick, has a game Saturday, but plays with a heavy heart.
“It’s going to be a tough weekend for him,” said Iob, currently head coach of the Jr. A Navan Grads.
This week, Cameron wrote a poignant Instagram message to Paquette that Alex surely received on his heavenly account.
“You’ve been there for me from the start, pushing for me to be better . . .” said Cameron. “The only reason I am where I am in hockey today is because you told me never give up on my dreams . . That’s why anytime I set foot on the ice it’s for you, big guy. Love you, Package, till I see you again.” #WolfPackStrong.
Goaltender Cameron Iob is seated next to Alex Paquette in a team photo.
Paquette’s funeral and cremation marked the second recent untimely passing for the Timberwolves junior hockey club and the Ottawa Valley. On Wednesday, Brandon Hanniman was buried near Cobden. Both 18-year-olds died from injuries suffered in an Oct. 27 crash on Calabogie Road. Two others survived the crash. Ben Scheuneman has been in critical condition — Renfrew OPP had no update on him on Friday afternoon. Jake McGrimmon is out of hospital.
On Friday, Paquette’s family and friends focused on the bright light that radiated from this 5-8 bundle of energy.
“Full of life. Always going,” says Iob, who knew or coached all four boys involved in the crash, but especially Paquette, a cog on spring and regular season teams coached by Iob.
“I was introduced to him as ‘Package.’ He had these crazy legs and . . . he would just go.
“I could put him on any time in any situation. If he fell down, he’d just get back up and keep going. He worked his ass off. He wanted to make every coach proud and he led by example.”
A Renfrew kid himself who had a fine OHL junior career as a forward with Kingston and Sault Ste Marie, Iob was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres and played 18 professional seasons, mostly in Europe. In 2006, Canada’s Olympic hockey team played an Italian squad that featured a 35-year-old Iob on the roster. He scored four points in the tournament. “This my Stanley Cup,” Iob said at the time.
The father of a boy and a girl, Iob returned to Renfrew from Europe in 2009. Cameron was 10, and quickly latched onto Paquette.
“He was his first friend, his confidante, and he’s been around ever since,” Iob says. Cameron and Alex were teammates with the Upper Ottawa Valley Aces, and though the Iobs live in Stittsville now, and the boys were on rival junior teams, Cameron would go back to Renfrew on weekends to stay with Alex.
“He’s a big part of your life that’s been taken away,” Iob says. “It’s surreal.”
Alex made everyone laugh. Iob would drive the boys to their practices and games, with Alex entertaining from the back seat. Like every car-pooling group, they spent hours and hours in cars.
One day, “Package” looked up at Iob’s reflection in the rearview mirror and said, “Hey, coach, how do you get your hair like that? It’s always slicked back nice.”
Iob said, “Well, you’ve got to work on it a little. Put some gel in there and slick it back.”
Sure enough, the next time he picked up Alex, there he was, with hair shine Elvis Presley could appreciate. Slicked back, and he never looked back.
Last Saturday, when Alex was in hospital, in the final hours of life, his former coach walked in to say goodbye. The first thing he saw – Alex’s hair, groomed to perfection.
“Your hair looks good, kid,” Iob thought to himself.
They were all Renfrew kids, Iob included, at one time. Iob was playing peewee and bantam hockey, and would see those Jr. B Timberwolves and dream of being one himself. He would go on to play in a Memorial Cup tournament against Hall of Fame defenceman Scott Niedermayer, but local boys think local.
“I looked up to the Jr. B’s as the only hockey team there was,” Iob says. “I played with them when I was 16, I left and came back and coached them (for three seasons).
“It’s always going to be a part of people who played there.”
Even for those who die too young.
Alex Paquette and Brandon Hanniman are forever Wolves.
“Life is too short,” Iob says. “Enjoy it. You just never know.”
wscanlan@postmedia.com
twitter/@hockeyscanner
查看原文...
