The story behind the numbers
Michigan’s Joel Jenkins couldn’t help but become a Vancouver Canucks fan.
Thatcher Demko, Vancouver’s netminder of the future, became fast friends with Jenkins’ son after they met at a goalie school. And Bo Horvat, the Canucks’ secondyear centre and the linchpin of its next generation, honours him by wearing jersey No. 53.
Ian Jenkins died in May 2011, when he fell from the back of a pickup truck and hit his head on the pavement. He was 15.
Just days earlier, the netminding product from Ypsilanti, Mich., had been selected in the second round of the OHL Draft by the London Knights. Horvat had been London’s first-round choice.
Jenkins had worn jersey No. 35, a classic goaltender move.
Horvat opted to flip it around. He started his tribute to Jenkins with London, and has continued it with Vancouver.
Oddly enough, Horvat and Jenkins weren’t particularly close beforehand. They knew each other merely in passing, from having played against each other coming through the ranks.
Horvat appreciated what he had heard about Jenkins.
He was known for a large personality, he considered Have A Purpose as his life motto.
Not long after coming back from the memorial service, Horvat made the jersey decision.
“I found out from Bo that he was choosing No. 53, and why, as his rookie season was starting with the Knights. It meant a great deal to me,” Joel explained in an email interview. “Ian and Bo had played against each other since they were eight years old. Ian was very excited to be joining Bo. I followed Bo very closely with the Knights and I still do today. I am very proud of him and I’m honoured beyond belief that he is an NHL player wearing a number honouring Ian.”
Horvat, 20, added: “It feels like Ian has been with me every step of the way.
“I think we would have been great friends.”
Demko, 20, and Jenkins were two of the goalies for their age group in the U.S., and saw each other at various high-level clinics. They kept in touch via text.
They were at a camp together just before Jenkins died.
Demko, Vancouver’s secondround pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, is a San Diego native now playing at Boston College.
“Ian and Thatcher were good buddies and they liked each other very much,” Joel explained.
“Thatcher always has honoured Ian on his mask and he also has kept in touch with me. Having them (Horvat and Demko) both a part of the Canucks makes me cheer for them at a high level.”
Horvat had worn various numbers before, bouncing between the likes of No. 20, No. 44 and No. 7.
The Canucks automatically assigned Horvat No. 53 for his first training camp.
Horvat was the ninth overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft.
It’s not surprising they would do something like that to help make him feel welcome.
When it became apparent that he was going to make the team, they asked him if he wanted to switch. He would have none of that.
“The team knew the story behind it and they didn’t want me to change it, either,” he said.
“It was kind of a mutual agreement that I wouldn’t change.”