‘It’s a sad day’
Jets remember Gord Downie
Bryan Little wishes he could go back in time and savour the moment.
When he was playing in the Ontario Hockey League with the Barrie Colts in his late teens, the Winnipeg Jets centre actually had the opportunity to spend some time with Gord Downie before seeing the Tragically Hip perform live for the first time.
“I met him just very briefly before that concert in Barrie. I wish I could go back, I would soak it up a bit more than I did,” Little said on the day Downie passed away after a lengthy battle with brain cancer at the age of 53. “I was pretty young, sitting front row. It was a pretty good time.”
As was the case in many arenas around Canada on Wednesday, the Tragically Hip was playing and players were sharing fond memories of the band’s frontman.
“I saw them on their farewell tour in Hamilton, which was my favourite concert. Awesome atmosphere, pretty emotional,” said Little. “Of course, I watched their last concert in Kingston on TV back home. I think he’s going to be missed.”
There’s no doubt Downie will be missed by many in the hockey community.
“Everyone knows he’s a hockey fan,” said Little. “I can remember playing world juniors and the Tragically Hip and the Trailer Park Boys sent us a video wishing us good luck and stuff.
“I heard they did that just about every year. They were big hockey fans and they were kind of the definition of being Canadian. I think everyone in Canada knows who the Hip and Gord Downie are.”
Little, defenceman Ben Chiarot and goalie Steve Mason all attended the farewell tour stop at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton in 2016.
“Seeing him there and seeing the show he put on, knowing how sick he was, it was pretty inspiring,” said Chiarot, noting it wasn’t surprising that Downie was able to strike a chord with so many hockey players. “It’s just his songs and how much they relate to Canada. Everything that he says, there’s something that’s so Canadian about him. It’s kind of like the CBC,
Hockey Night in Canada and the Tragically Hip, it all just blends together. As a Canadian hockey player, you have to be a Hip fan.”
Chiarot got into the band during the latter stages of his junior career.
“As you get a little more mature, you start listening to the words a little more and you hear Gord singing about Canada and different things in Canada and hockey,” said Chiarot. “You can relate to what he’s saying a little better as you get older.”
That ability to relate to people across the nation is one of the reasons the band is beloved.
“I really enjoyed The Hip’s music, along with a bunch of buddies back home. It’s a sad day for everybody in Canada. They’re one of the greatest bands of all time in Canada,” said Mason. “They incorporate a lot of the Canadian lifestyle into their music. Their music will live on for many, many years.”
Jets head coach Paul Maurice also calls himself a fan of The Hip.
“That’s part of the passport,” said Maurice. “They just seem darned Canadian. I was living in the (United) States for most of it when they came in, and you didn’t hear much about them. But my brother plays guitar in a band and he was going wild over them. All my friends, guys my age, back home, that was the band that they connected with. So, you start listening to them and you get it.
“There are far more eloquent people that understand music better than I do, but they just sound Canadian and it resonated with everybody. Everybody’s got their song that they like to listen to, a lot of them. It’s an incredibly sad day.”
Maurice took in the Tragically Hip show in Winnipeg during the summer of 2016 and came away thoroughly impressed by what he witnessed.
“For anyone that was there, it was incredible,” said Maurice.
Much like the legacy Downie is leaving behind.
I can remember playing world juniors and the Tragically Hip and the Trailer Park Boys sent us a video wishing us good luck and stuff ... They were big hockey fans and they were kind of the definition of being Canadian. I think everyone in Canada knows who the Hip and Gord Downie are. Jets forward Bryan Little