Captain wins award in memory of deceased teammate

“I’ve known Phil for awhile now, and he is probably the best example of what Bradley was and those qualities that he had,” says Dan Neault, who coached both players with the Cumberland Ice Gators last season. “Phil’s a really well-mannered young man, and he represents a lot of what Bradley did for us last year. It was very emotional to present him the award.”

A ceremony was held prior to a game on Feb. 20 at the Ray Friel arena for Phil, who later scored a goal in the contest and pointed to the heavens in honour of Bradley. Last year, Phil asked to write a speech for the memorial game that was held in memory of Bradley. “I have goosebumps just talking about it,” says Phil’s father, Rick Bedard, the president of the Cumberland Jr. Grads Minor Hockey Club. “I don’t cry very often, but to see my son on the ice speaking for his fallen teammate in front of 200 or 300 people had me very choked up on the bench.”

Phil told the crowd he was proud to have served as Bradley’s captain and that Bradley was a great leader, an inspiration to all his teammates and someone that he’ll never forget. “And one other thing he said is, ‘I’ll always wear No. 15 somewhere on my equipment,’” adds Rick, who was a trainer for the Ice Gators and often looks down at the No. 15 on the arm of the team jacket himself for inspiration. “For a 13-year-old to say that kind of stuff is pretty deep. And when he won the award, he showed Bradley’s parents that he still has No. 15 on his helmet.”

Also at the ceremony were many of his Ice Gators teammates from last season – Phil moved up from house league to play competitive hockey this year – who all still get together frequently to play Nintendo or hang out. “It was a very difficult time – probably the worst thing you could ever go through in hockey – but it created bonds and life-long friendships that will never go away,” Rick notes. “It’s times like this where you see that we do live in a good community.”

Phil was selected as the award winner out of Bantam-aged Cumberland players of all levels based in part on his determination on the ice during games and practices, for helping out with bottle drive fundraisers, and for teaching eight-year-olds to play hockey at the outdoor rinks. “It means everything for me to win award with Bradley’s name on it,” Phil says. “I was so grateful. And the best part was seeing Bradley’s parents and my old coach to give it to me.”