VANCOUVER – Dozens of grieving fans gathered outside Rogers Arena this afternoon to celebrate the life of former Vancouver Canuck Rick Rypien.
Twenty-seven-year-old Alberta native was found dead in his home Monday night.
A miniature hockey stick, a teddy bear, a Stanley Cup replica and a Canadian flag covered with words of condolence for the Rypien family were just some of the things people left at the makeshift memorial set up near the Roger Neilson statue in front of Rogers Arena, where Rypien played many a game for the Vancouver Canucks in his six seasons with the team.
One of the Skytrain pillars near Stadium Station became the unofficial memorial for the forward. People started bringing flowers and writing their condolences on it as early as Monday when the news of Rypien’s death first broke.
Today, Rypien’s fans Vivian Dinh and Annie Zhang had to push their way through a somber crowd that surrounded the memorial to tape down a small poster that read “37 RIP. Forever a Canuck.”
“He was a tiny fighter with a lot of will in his heart,” said Annie, holding back tears. “He would stand up for his team.”
Twenty-two-year-old Calvin Ng of Port Moody, who was one of the first people to start the makeshift memorial, was on site again today.
He stood somberly, his head down, clasping a giant Canucks flag, which he says he has not taken outside with him ever since Game 7 of the playoff final.
He says he had to come back for Rick, who he says, because of his feistiness and fighting skills, was one of the guys people always cheered for in the back of their minds.
The line-up to sign a book of condolences for the Rypien family stretched out for meters all the way to Expo Boulevard from where it was set up outside the front entrance of Rogers Arena.
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Within hours, the book was filled with heartfelt messages.
One person wrote, “Rick, thank you for teaching me how to be tough. I will miss you and always have your jersey. RIP 37.”
Another person who signed as Lindsay wrote, “You will be missed. Keep fighting.”
Alex Ransford, who organized the gathering on Facebook, says she was shocked and in disbelief when she first heard about Rypien’s death on Twitter. So she decided to create a Facebook event and call it “Rick Rypien’s Celebration of Life,” which close to 500 people signed up to attend on Facebook.
“It was just an idea to come down on my own with my Mom and bring flowers. We invited our friends, who invited their friends and it just grew bigger and bigger.”
Many of the people who came down to remember Rypien were wearing Canucks jerseys bearing his name and number.
Dave Morgan was wearing his No.37 Canucks jersey as well, but was holding another one-of-a-kind “jersey memorial” in his hands.
It was a Manitoba Moose jersey Rypien wore during his time with the club last season. One of Morgan’s friends brought it for him from Manitoba.
Morgan says he loved watching Rypien on the ice.
“He was a bit of an underdog, and I like to cheer for the underdogs.”
Morgan says he was lucky enough to meet Rypien in person. It was a chance encounter that spoke volumes about Rypien’s personality.
“In April when I was in Manitoba, I got to go down to the locker room, and kind of walked in to pick something up for my friend who works upstairs, … and I kind of turned to my left, and there was a guy taping his stick. He looks up and says, ‘Hey, how is it going?’ And I said, ‘Good, how are you doing?’ I turned around and kept walking, thinking to myself: that was Rick Rypien. That was totally awesome.”
He says he plans to donate the jersey to Rypien’s family if they want it. If not, Morgan says he will be glad to keep it.
“It will bring me happy memories for the rest of my life.”
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