Tabbies centre honours former teammate in every game
Tigers centre Haden wears No. 17 in memory of friend and teammate Markus Lavallee
Prior to Oct. 25’s game against the Spokane Chiefs, Medicine Hat Tigers forward Gary Haden snuck a message onto the whiteboard that lists the starters and scratches in the Canalta Centre’s media lounge, ‘17 is cool.’
The lighthearted scrawling quickly led to the creation of a hashtag when Haden notched a pair of assists in his team’s eventual 7-4 victory, but there’s far more meaning behind the message than meets the eye.
Haden’s road to the Western Hockey League featured an unforgettable run to the 2015 Telus Cup with close friend and teammate Markus Lavallee on the UFA Bisons. In the summer that followed, Lavallee lost his life in a car accident alongside his grandmother. He wore No. 17.
“When I got here and I had to pick a number, normally I would wear 8, but I saw 17 was available so I thought for sure I had to wear it. It was perfect, I get to wear his number and honour him,” said Haden. “Every time I see a picture or even hear my name after I score, I’m always thinking about him.”
It doesn’t stop at his jersey. The 18-year-old centre’s custom skates have the initials “ML” stitched into the tongue, and he even got a tattoo in honour of Lavallee last year — when he was 17.
“I really wanted to do something for him right away,” said Haden. “I was still 16 but I wanted to get a tattoo and my mom was like, ‘No hold off a year and make sure you really want it,’ then a year later I really wanted it.”
Haden has been making the most of his regular ice time with the Tigers this season after spending a good portion of last year as a healthy scratch. While it was a trying period, bouncing in and out of the roster, Haden says he found strength in remembering the way Lavallee played the game.
“He was more of an energy guy. He knew his role and was just happy to be there. That was one thing that really helped me through last year, like, how would he look at this? He was happy to just be playing midget AAA, and I’m in the Western Hockey League. He would be absolutely loving this so that really helped me through last year,” said Haden, who has three goals and six assists in 14 games this season. “He was just one of those guys you couldn’t not like.”
Together Haden, Lavallee and the Bisons were near unstoppable in their road to the Telus Cup. Haden closed out his 15year-old season with 15 goals and 16 assists in 33 games while Lavallee added nine goals and eight helpers. The pair went on to combine for 14 points in eight post-season contests.
“It was an absolutely magical run. It was just one of those things where we actually couldn’t lose,” said Haden. “I think from Jan. 1 to the league final we lost one game. It was incredible.”
Lavallee’s family billeted for the Strathmore-based Bisons, and as a result Haden says they were host to a lot of team get-togethers.
But one night in particular stands out from the rest.
“I remember we had study hall Monday night, but it was when Canada was playing the gold medal game against Russia. So he convinced the coach that if he could get everyone to come to his house we’d have no study hall and we’d get to watch the game, and the coach agreed,” said Haden, adding Lavallee’s grandmother, who also died in the crash, was as sweet as they come. “She was just one of those people who would come in and be like, ‘Oh are you hungry?’ and you’d say, ‘Oh no I just ate,’ and she’d just give you something. She would always be making something fresh and it was always the best, her soup or whatever it was so good, even if you were full.”
Lavallee’s legacy lives on through Haden’s budding career, on his jersey, skates and skin. And now on Twitter too. So if you find yourself tweeting about Gary Haden in tonight’s tilt against the Saskatoon Blades at the Canalta Centre, remember 17 is cool.
“It’s quite an honour to be honouring such an amazing person,” he said. “In warmup I always give him a little shout-out and talk to him, ask him how it’s going. I feel like he’s always watching over me and he’s always there for me. When I need him he’s there. When I get a lucky bounce that’s him helping me out.”
The Tigers (8-6-0-0) and Blades (6-7-1-0) hit the ice at 7:30 p.m.