Raising money to support hockey rinks in a small town is never easy, but luckily for the town of Asquith, which is in Saskatchewan, a signed Gordie Howe jersey was donated by Howe's relatives to the rink to support it.
The jersey was set to be raffled off during an annual fundraiser, but unfortunately over the weekend, it was stolen during a break-in at the arena.
According to Jody Nehring who's with the Asquith community sports center, the jersey was locked in a back room, but was put on display while tickets were sold at the arena.
As per 650 CKOM, Nehring told the radio station that "there were a lot of tears shed" and the kids who play hockey at the rink were very upset when they heard the news that the jersey had been stolen.
The funds from the Howe jersey raffle were going towards supporting the arena, and without said funds, Nehring said that the children might not get to play hockey next year.
As many hockey fans know, Howe was born in Floral, Saskatchewan, and obviously the province meant a lot to him and his family, so much so that a signed jersey of his was donated.
With Howe's tragic passing last year, all hockey fans have left of him are memories stitched into the fabric of his jerseys, printed on his hockey cards.
Even though Mr. Hockey isn't with us anymore, the memories of him will live on forever, and his kind words will, too.
Howe's legacy was much more than being one of the best NHL players of all time. Who he was as a person was a big reason why he was so beloved.
Howe would have wanted his jersey to go to a good cause more than anything in this world, and we hope for the sake of this community that the jersey is found or returned.
(H/T: USA Today)
