I am at a loss. I still can’t believe the news I heard yesterday. I am getting used to hearing about old friends and acquaintances passing away. But when you hear about three in one day, it hits so much harder. It’s overwhelming.
Yesterday, while skimming over my social media feeds, I came across a familiar face. Somebody had posted a picture of Todd Gillingham, a former professional Hockey player with whom I was acquainted many years ago, when we were both much younger and still active in the game. The picture was accompanied by the caption, “1970-2023.” I was shocked. I remembered Gilly as such a happy-go-lucky guy…he always brightened my day every time I saw him. I didn’t know him well. We were never on the same team together. The closest we came was when he played for the Phoenix Roadrunners the year after I had left the team. I always knew him as a visiting player, mostly with the San Diego Gulls and Salt Lake City Golden Eagles. Nevertheless, he greeted me with a big smile and a hearty hello every time I saw him. He was one of those guys who just always seemed happy to be doing what he was doing, like he never had a bad day. And that was infectious. I don’t recall ever interacting with him where I didn’t end up smiling. He was a really good dude.
I don’t know how he died. No details were given and I hadn’t heard anything about him being sick, so I have no idea. What I do know is that the world is a darker place without him. I will miss him. But I thought about him yesterday and it made me smile. Cheers, Gilly.
Moments later, I saw a post about Ryan Pisiak. Again, I never worked with Pisiak and knew him only as a visiting player. But I remember him as a well-respected tough guy with the Louisiana Ice Gators of the ECHL and the Austin Ice Bats of the WPHL. I didn’t know him much at all, mostly just by reputation. But I know he was well-regarded by those who knew him. Again, I don’t know what caused his death; only that he was much too young. Rest in Peace, Ryan.
The last gut punch came with the news of Gino Odjick’s passing. I never met Gino, but of course I knew who he was. Everybody who followed Hockey in the '90s knew who he was. He was a bit of a legend. He played 12 years in the NHL, most of it with the Vancouver Canucks. Like Gillingham and Pisiak, he was a tough guy and those guys tend to be well-liked. They also tend to be really personable guys. Some of the nicest men I’ve met have been some of the toughest Hockey players I’ve known.
Unlike the others, I knew that Gino had been sick for a while. His diagnosis for amyloidosis had been made public, and it has been known for some time that he probably did not have much longer to live. That being said, I think he hung in there longer than a lot of people expected. In the end, he died of a heart attack, his heart having been weakened by his condition.
It’s tough enough to keep hearing about people we respect and admire passing away, despite the knowledge that we all will eventually come to the end of our time on Earth. But it seems exceptionally cruel to have three fall in one day. It just doesn’t seem real. It can’t be real. But…somehow it is. I am at a loss. I don’t know what else to say.
Rest in Peace, Gentlemen. You will be missed.
