CLARENVILLE, N.L. — It was a weekend full of emotion and on-ice triumph for the Clarenville Caribous Atom teams, as they remembered a fallen teammate during a hockey tournament staple.
The annual Atom tournament hosted by Clarenville was the official kick off for Minor Hockey Week in the province.
The event also honoured Joshua Wilcox, a 10 year-old hockey player who died in an ATV accident on Christmas Day.
From the opening ceremonies at the Eastlink Events Centre to the final buzzer of the gold medal game, memories of Wilcox were everywhere. Teams performed a signature cheer for him and took photographs in front of a “Wilcox 14” backdrop.
His teammates wore his name across the backs of their jerseys.
In an ultimate honour to their teammate who loved hockey so much, the Clarenville Caribous Atom teams won the gold medals in both the A and B divisions.
Gander received silver in the A division, while Bonavista got second in B. Bay Arena defeated Gander in the finals for C division.
The Atom tournament itself is a historic event in the community, with the Jan. 10-12 meet being the 47th annual one of its kind.
The tournament was also the kickoff event for Minor Hockey Week in the province, with all eyes on Clarenville as officials on hand from Hockey NL signed the official proclamation.
Wilcox’s family was also present to participate in the opening ceremonies, drop the puck for a game and present medals to the winners.
Joshua's memory
Local hockey coach Rebecca Russell has been close with Joshua through his hockey days, into recent private classes during which she provided close instruction for the young hockey player.
Russell told The Packet that, while watching the games over the course of the weekend, she thought about what Joshua’s teammates were going through in their grief.
She says, for adults remembering Joshua is a lot to have to deal with emotionally, and for young kids who were his friends even more so.
“What the directors of that division did, what the parents of that division did, this weekend to honour his memory and family—it speaks volumes to how much we thought of Joshua and his family,” said Russell.
“They did such a good job of honouring him throughout the weekend.”
She adds that she commended the coaches of his team, along with the association as a whole, for how they were able to do what they do, help their players, and continue on themselves.
“How those kids are handling themselves and how those coaches are helping them handle themselves has just been outstanding.”
With the hockey community being so tight-knit, Russell says they’re not huge, but they really come together in times like these.
“When something as tragic as this happens, it makes you sit back and think about how lucky we are to have one another and be as close as we are,” she says.
As Russell gets back to teaching skills to young hockey players in the Clarenville area, she says she keeps meeting “firsts” of things they haven’t done since Joshua passed away.
“Joshua was a special kid, I wasn’t the first and I won’t be the last to say that … There was never a day he didn’t work his hardest.”
Russell says she stayed on him because she knew he took what he did to heart, and really wanted to improve as a player as well as in everyday life.
“Away from hockey … he was such a good kid, such a pleasure to work with.”
She says, while it’s still very hard to go through those moments, like the “firsts”, it’s because of Joshua’s lasting memory and the impact he made.
“We all care about him so much.”
Twitter: @jejparsons
