Markus Lavallee was a star hockey player in Chestermere, Alberta who always had a smile. A strong athlete, Markus began playing AAA hockey in 2014 but tragically passed away in a car accident in the spring of 2015 at the age of 16.
Yet Markus’ legacy lives on.
Coaches Steve Samuel & Ted Laing of the Pee Wee Chestermere Lakers hockey team wanted to honour the young man’s example for the next generation of hockey players.
“Markus was a great leader that kids could look up to on and off the ice,” said Laing. “We wanted to really remind the kids of what he stood for and encourage them to ‘play like Markus’.”
Inspired by the Calgary Flames’ tradition of giving a fire helmet to outstanding players, Laing contacted Chestermere Fire Services (CFS) to see if they would be interested in helping out.
Now for the second season, the fire department provided a helmet to be awarded each game to the player who had shown the most heart and worked the hardest, someone who had ‘played like Markus.’
“When Coach Ted approached us last year, we thought this was a great way to help promote the strong values that Markus lived by – values that we share as firefighters,” says Fire Chief Brian Pomrenke.
In addition to providing the helmet, CFS has adopted the team and has given the players a tour of the department, has hosted dryland training sessions at the fire hall gym and has attended games when possible. Chief Pomrenke says that while the crews provide support for the team, the firefighters also learn a lot from the kids. “It has meant a lot to our crews to be able to work with this great group of young players and be inspired by them,” he says.
Both groups look forward to continuing the partnership in the coming years.
“The experiences and memories the players gained will be remembered for the rest of their lives. We want to thank the fire department for all their support and for donating the “Play like Markus” outstanding player helmet again this year,” says Coach Laing.
Although the team didn’t win in the playoffs this year, the 2016/2017 season will be one to remember by being undefeated in the regular season. Laing attributes the success both to his players and the support they received.
“Having the Fire Department behind you as well as Markus’s mom, how could we lose?”
