Friendship, honor, tribute, hockey — it all comes together in a way we can all appreciate.
For one hockey fan, it was worth making the last trip together to the stadium.
In their quest for Stanley Cup glory, the Colorado Avalanche will be returning to Denver to face the Tampa Bay Lightning. The reason one passionate fan is not able to attend the game is that his best friend cannot go. Ryan Clark was banned from all Finals games, but he’s perfectly happy with this decision.
Ryan Stark lost his best friend Kyle Stark in a sudden and tragic death this past December. They were long-time close friends, Kyle being Ryan’s Best Man during his marriage. Ryan and Kyle were avid Avalanche fans who attended Avalanche games together. Ryan was moved by the incredible season that their team had been having, and felt it necessary to honor his hockey buddy.
Not long after his friend’s funeral, Kyle’s parents invited Ryan to join them at Ball Arena for a game, in a gesture of remembrance. Ryan of course leaped at the offer, and then he made a request of his friend’s parents: Would they be willing to bring with them some of Kyles’s ashes to the stadium? Ryan offered the chance to see his two best friends at one more game, but then he decided to use the opportunity to make it permanent.
Kyle wouldn’t be leaving that night. He was spotted by his friend and placed him on the playing surface. “We had him in a little baggie. Kyle was transferred to the glass and then onto the ice..” After years spent watching games play out in the rink, Kyle then became a part of that sheet. Ryan couldn’t think of a better way to honor his friend than this.
It was no surprise that his gesture was not received well by the team authorities. An Avs fan saw his gesture and approached Ryan. The usher asked him what he did and Ryan admitted that it was his best friend, who was on the ice. Ryan was then taken out of the arena and informed by the team that he wouldn’t be allowed to go to any Avalanche games the rest of the season.
Missing out on his favorite team’s championship run is a small punishment when weighed against the memory he has created. Regrets have not even entered Ryan’s mind on the matter. “I’d do it all over again with the biggest smile on my face, like I did the last time. I know in my heart that’s where he wanted to be.”
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