Representative teams within the Sarnia Hockey Association will wear memorial emblems on their jerseys this season in honour of Dane Nisbet, a local hockey player who was tragically killed earlier this year.
Rep. Equipment Director Tom Babcock said the board unanimously approved the idea. "It was a pretty easy decision," he said.
Nisbet, 20, died in April after he was shot outside Lambton College's student pub.
Babcock -- who coached Nisbet and is a family friend -- said Nisbet's mother, Tracy Bennett, sent him a patch design.
"They really appreciated the thought," Babcock said. "We decided on both shoulders would look good and balanced."
Babcock said all 19 representative teams will wear the memorial emblems.
"Our jerseys, they're all sublimated jerseys, so our sponsor logo and their names -- we don't use patches anymore, it's just built right into the jersey," said Babcock.
He also said other teams are welcome to wear a patch or helmet sticker in honour of Nisbet.
"Dane grew up playing in Sarnia hockey in the AA program. He was part of Sarnia hockey all of his playing years until he got up and played U18 AAA and then went on to play junior," Babcock said. "We just thought, being as he played through our rep program, that it was a good way to honour him."
Babcock said Nisbet's death is still being felt within the hockey community.
"There are still players in our program who are Dane's friends and people Dane's been associated with," he said. "Even a couple of coaches who had coached him in the past are still involved in the organization."
Most teams are set to begin practice in September.
