Hockey world remembers Hip frontman Downie

TORONTO — From playing in 2 a.m. shinny games to squeezing in ice time while on tour, Gord Downie’s love of hockey ran deep.

“He hated every other team and every other athlete that wasn’t the Boston Bruins,” said longtime friend and fellow musician Dave Bidini. “He was incorrigible.”

Hockey and the Tragically Hip have always been linemates, if you will. The band’s rock anthems have been played regularly in NHL arenas for years and the sport is a big part of classic tunes like Fireworks, Fifty Mission Cap, and Lonely End of the Rink.

Downie, who announced last year he had brain cancer, died Tuesday night. He was 53.

On Wednesday, the hockey world remembered the Tragically Hip frontman for his love of the game and tributes to it through his music.

Former NHL great Doug Gilmour, a fellow Kingston, Ont., native, said he was heartbroken to hear the news.

“Few Canadians touched this country like Gord Downie,” he said on Twitter. “Thank you for everything you gave us. My deepest condolences.”

Canadian women’s hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser said Downie’s death feels like the loss of a teammate. She added the band’s music was “a theme that ran through my entire hockey career and every team I’ve ever played on.”

The NHL tweeted its condolences, adding that Downie’s “music and love for hockey will echo through arenas forever.” The Toronto Maple Leafs planned a moment of thanks and celebration of Downie before Wednesday night’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, a team spokesman said.

The Hip was blaring in the Leafs’ locker-room before the team’s morning skate.

“He’s a huge inspiration to all of Canada,” said Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly. “He has a lot of fans in this room, all over Toronto, all over Canada, all over the world.”

Downie played the goaltender position when he suited up in rec leagues or pickup games. A passionate showman on stage, his intensity would often carry over to the ice.

“He was so serious, he wouldn’t talk before a game,” said Bidini. “He was in that crazy goalie zone.”

Bidini and the Toronto-based rock band Rheostatics opened for the Hip on three national tours in the 1990s. The band members would often borrow equipment for shinny games as they made stops across the country.