Beau's Hockey Insider - He Should Always be Remembered

Former Trappers head coach Beau Moyer will be offering his hockey insight on "Beau's Hockey Insider." Aside from coaching, Moyer won an NCAA Div. III national championship playing for the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets in 2002 and was a draft pick of the OHL's North Bay Centennials in 1998. Enjoy!

The game of hockey is amazing but it can bring out the worst in some people. There are selfish individuals that put themselves before the team, that feel they are bigger then the game itself. We are seeing it today, and we don’t even have to look that far. When players are making millions of dollars and are not satisfied where they are playing. At this time I would like to remember an individual that was everything a hockey player should be and more.

In the summer of 1998, my brother Russ moved to the little town of Elmira, Ontario. Located 15 kilometers north of Kitchener it was an opportunity that would give him more exposure to OHL scouts and NCAA recruiters. Moving away from home at 16 would be an adjustment for any kid that age. But what made the transition that much easier was the family who would take him in for that season.

His billets the Snyder family, Graham and LuAnn, parents of the late Dan Snyder opened their home to my brother. I being a hockey nut and a stats freak was excited because he was going to be living with the parents of the Owen Sound Platers captain. I was also very excited because my brother was going to experience a change of scenery and a new challenge. Russ would take Dan’s room in the basement that was painted in the colors of the old Quebec Nordiques.

I would frequently make the trip to Elmira with my mom and dad to see my brother on a Friday night and we would drive back Saturday morning because I had a game that night with the Trappers. I was 17 years old at the time, but something stuck with me. These people took my brother in - a stranger - and treated him like gold. They treated my parents and I the same way, they never said a bad word about anyone. They were caring and passionate hockey people. My parents always had a place to stay and the Snyder’s loved the company. Personally, all billet families that open their homes to these kids and strangers are special, because they are not doing it for the money.

We still remember the late nights sitting up with Graham and talking about old OHL players, some of the good ones. But I was always interested in Dan’s story. He was a 7th round draft pick in 1995 to the Owen Sound Platers. He was not a lock to make the team coming out of that first training camp but he battled and earned a spot with his hard work. He was the under dog that nobody could beat out for a spot. I always liked hearing the stories about all of Dan’s battles and obstacles he had to overcome to earn a contract with the Atlanta Thrashers in the summer of 1999.

Dan was a great ambassador for the city of Owen Sound. Many players felt they were too good or too big for the small town. But Dan did whatever he possibly could to make Owen Sound a great place to play. The OHL renamed the Humanitarian award it hands out on a yearly basis in honor of Dan and his countless hours of community service while he played in Owen Sound.

The toughest thing about Russ making the move from Elmira to Ottawa and joining the 67s was the great people he would be leaving behind. Nobody took it harder then my mother on her last visit to Elmira before he would be going to his first training camp in Ottawa. The friendship that was created between the Moyer’s and Snyder’s will last forever, as they made their way for a weekend visit in the summer of 2007.

Prior to the car crash that took his life in September 2003, Dan was going to enter his first full season with the Atlanta Thrashers. As a player he was a heart and soul type that would do anything to win. From blocking a shot to sticking up for a teammate he could do it all. He beat the odds of making it to the NHL, and I feel lucky to have met an individual that has had such a positive impact. Dan was the type of player, that as a coach I would have loved all my players to emulate.

As a family, the game of hockey has allowed us to meet some very special people that have had a great impact on our lives. All the positive qualities that Dan Snyder had to offer the hockey world should be remembered, because he definitely was someone that I looked up to not only on the ice but what I could do for my community.