A tribute to a minor hockey player in Newfoundland was a theme for Prince Rupert's Hometown Hockey

A poster in celebration of the life of a young Newfoundland minor hockey
player was part of Prince Rupert's Hometown Hockey story this weekend

It was a tribute to a minor hockey player from the other side of the country that caught many an eye as one of the many things to remember about Hometown Hockey in Prince Rupert this weekend.

With a poster placed on the corner wall of the old Dairy Queen at Third Avenue West and McBride for Saturday's Winterfest Parade and Hometown Hockey event telling the story of Darian  Hunt, a fifteen year old minor hockey player from Clarenville, Newfoundland who passed away earlier this year from leukemia.

His Celebration of Life in Clarenville brought that community together, with the hockey world from his minor hockey teammates, to those of professional ranks all represented at the May memorial with remembrances.

The Prince Rupert poster in place for Hometown Hockey featured the young player, standing in between hockey greats Jean Beliveau and Gordie Howe, ready for the next shift on the ice.

It makes for a fitting farewell to a young man who loved the sport and captured not only the attention of his hometown in Newfoundland but that of Hockey Night in Canada and on Rogers Hometown Hockey, which featured his story as he battled cancer through these last few years.

The Prince Rupert connection comes through family ties, Darian's Mom Neda was born and raised in the city, later relocating to Newfoundland.

With the young man's Grandmother Katica Vrkljan, Aunt and Uncle Anne and Sean Rowse along with cousin Jordan, all still residents of the North Coast.

Mrs. Vrkljan and Darian's aunt Anne spent much of their time this last year by the young man's side at hospitals in eastern Canada.

The tribute to his life as part of the Prince Rupert stop on Hometown hockey made for a very special way of highlighting how hockey indeed does bind the country together in many ways, from our many corners and communities large and small.

You can review some of his story from some of the items found below

Clarenville mourns loss of teen hockey star after leukemia fight
Clarenville Newfoundland family remembering their son Darian Hunt by helping others

For more items of interest from the Hometown Hockey weekend see our archive page.

To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.