Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – As they carry on his legacy of hard work and helping others, while continuing the healing process in the year since his death, the MacEwan Griffins men's hockey team will honour Nakehko Lamothe on the one-year anniversary of his passing by retiring his jersey in a special ceremony on Saturday.
Lamothe's No. 28 will forever be enshrined on MacEwan's wall of champions at the Downtown Community Arena.
A special pre-game ceremony will take place prior to the Griffins' Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference regular season game against UAlberta-Augustana on Saturday (6 p.m., DCA, ACAC TV).
"Nakehko was a great person and a gritty teammate, and a huge part of our team," said interim head coach Sean Ringrose. "It's important for us to remember him and honour his legacy with the team for everything he stood for as a person and a Griffin – all the positives he brought to the team and the community."
The Griffins' tribute to Lamothe on Saturday will include their play on the ice in the game following the ceremony as they endeavour to follow the example of hard work that Lamothe set on a regular basis.
"This is a game we don't want to drop," said fifth-year goaltender Marc-Olivier Daigle. "It will mean more than a regular season game for obvious reasons. We know he would have loved to have been there. We know he'll be there with us somehow.
"We're going to do everything … last year we had our slogan: 'Compete like Kehks,' and it's not going to be any different. We're going to make sure we make him proud from wherever he's watching us. If we do that, I'm sure we're going to come out and be successful."
Over the past year, amid the tough healing process that followed his passing after a Jan. 25, 2019 game at SAIT, the Griffins have taken his work ethic to heart. Their entire 2019 playoff run, which ended with a third-straight ACAC Championship, was dedicated to Lamothe.
As they went into a new season, the Griffins turned over half their roster and many of Lamothe's new teammates graduated and moved on to other pursuits. But the veterans made a point of passing along Lamothe's legacy to the younger players.
An unmatched commitment to fitness and nutrition led to his gritty, effort-filled play on the ice, while his dedication to his studies and his mentorship of young hockey players are also qualities the Griffins have tried to better embody.
"Last year, that whole playoff run we had was a healing process in itself," said Griffins captain Cam Gotaas. "We did it for him. This year, we don't forget him – I think about him every day – but there are new guys here. So, it's passing on his legacy to the young guys and showing them that when we're gone (from the program) this is what we want you guys to carry forward. I think Nakehko would appreciate that."
Over the past year, the Griffins have continued a 'Shadow Day' initiative that Lamothe started, bringing Indigenous youth to MacEwan for a day in the life of a Griffins student-athlete. They've also continued the work he put in running the Griffins' summer hockey camp; Daigle took on Lamothe's role as lead instructor last August.
"Just talking with the kids, they all loved Nakeh and they all knew who he was," said Daigle. "(It just hit me) how those kids had such positive memories of this camp mostly because of him, so I want to make sure those kids still are having a positive time and are happy to be there. He brought this camp to another level just because of the way he was.
"He set the bar high for a lot of things just because of the kind of guy he was."
