An Airdrie hockey player has been honouring a great friend and former teammate since joining the Western Hockey League over a year ago.

Gary Haden, who currently plays for the Medicine Hat Tigers, wears number 17, which belonged to his former Bisons teammate Markus Lavallee.

Lavallee and his grandmother were killed in a car crash in the summer of 2015, not long after the Bisons made it to the Telus Cup National Tournament.

Haden was Lavallee's teammate on that Bisons team for the 2014-2015 season and said he wanted to find a way to honour a great teammate and friend.

"I decided to wear it last year for him and then people kind of caught drift as to why I wore it. I was just a rookie, I didn't really want to go out parading a bunch of stuff. I'm glad that people in Medicine Hat know why I wear 17 and it's an honour to wear it. It's just honouring a great person."

So far, Haden said his teammates on the Tigers and the community in Medicine Hat have embraced the gesture. For Haden, remembering Lavallee goes beyond just wearing his number.

"The way he looked at life helped me through last year. I only played 32 games out of 72 and it was tough. When I was at my lowest points I just thought, 'what would Markus think?' And Markus would just be happy to be here. I just tried to have the most positive attitude I could."

Haden's decision to wear Lavallee's number has even led to a buzz on social media, when #17iscool became a trending topic.

"The white board was right there. Last year when I did stats all the time, I'd write 17 is a nice guy or something like that. When I wrote 17 is cool, the media guy here found it. He started it and then that led to him finding out what was behind it."

Haden's former team, the CFR Chemicals Bisons, are also honouring Lavallee's legacy by having the captain of the team wear the number 17 every season.

In just his second full season in the Western Hockey League, Haden has scored four goals and seven assists in the first 16 games. Last year, Haden only registered seven goals and one assist in 32 games.

 

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