The entire hockey community, amongst many others, took a minute to honour legendary Howie Meeker this past Sunday. He passed away at the age of 97, and is known for his prominence in the early NHL days, followed by a colourful career as an analyst for the league along with a number of other passions he had. He was born in Kitchener Ontario back in 1923 where be began his hockey journey. He only played a few years in the league until joining his country in the fight of World War II with the Canadian Army; he was badly injured during the war but luckily made a full recovery.

Onward went his hockey career as he joined the Toronto Maple Leaf’s and their run for the cup. He was awarded the NHL’s Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 1947, scoring 5 goals in one game against the Chicago Blackhawks to tie the record for most goals in a game by a rookie, and followed that by winning 4 Stanley Cups with the club. As his playing career bounced around from team to team shortly after his early success, along with a severe collarbone break, he took to coaching in 1956. Following his time in the league he ran a very successful hockey camp and published a book in 1973 titled, “Howie Meeker’s Hockey Basics” which lead to a television series of 107 fifteen-minute episodes, largely focusing on the importance of being taught to play the game correctly and wearing safe hockey equipment. Meeker didn’t stop there! He pursued a highly successful broadcasting career and emerged into a new generation-type of reporter. He was a colour commentator for Hockey Night in Canada and was one of the first to truly look more deeply into replays and the specifics of the game.

The list is endless of the people’s lives that he changed. The number of players he influenced to join the game is endless, he increased the safety of the players by technique and their gear, and genuinely cared about the people invested in the game. CBC tweeted, “The equipment has changed but his advise from a 1974 episode of @cbcsports ‘Howie Meeker’s Hockey School’ holds up”, which is a clear indication of the impact that still remains from the lessons he taught. The list does not stop there, Meeker was involved with the Special Olympics for approximately 50 years. It began as simply lending out his name for a golf tournament in 1988 and ended up extending out for 30 years until he was 94 when he took a step back, but ensured he had a suitable replacement for himself so that the fundraiser would continue. Lastly, him and his wife Leah were a large part of another fundraiser, this one being for the BC Guide Dog Services where they helped raise over $350,000 as of July 2011. Meeker was a unique, hardworking, kind soul who will be greatly missed and whose lessons will continue to carry on.

Take 1:39 seconds out of your day to watch Sportsnet’s video below, and you will understand.

“Its alright to have the skill’s, but size of his heart, is the most important thing”. – Howie Meeker