Ten teams took part in the 5th annual Jordan Boyd Celebrity Hockey Challenge. The friendly tournament raises money for the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital’s (QEII ) inherited heart disease clinic in Halifax.
The tournament is named in honour of Jordan Boyd, who tragically died at the age of 16 due to undiagnosed heart disease, while attending a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League training camp in 2013.
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The tournament was created by Boyd’s family. His father Stephen Boyd said that it has turned into the perfect tribute.
“This would be Jordan’s kind of day. He just loved hockey and being around the rink and playing the game,¨ said Boyd. “What’s going on here today is 100 per cent his day.”
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Teams raise money in order to play in the tournament with a chance to play with hockey professionals.
NHL players James Neal, Nathan Mackinnon and Brad Marchand were among those who played in this year’s tournament. Jill Saulnier, a Olympic silver medalist for Team Canada, also joined the tournament for the first time.
Marchand said that it has been an honour to take part over the years: “I have known Jordan since he was a boy, I’ve known the family for a very long time and I think what they’re doing here is incredible.”
WATCH: Jordan Boyd Celebrity Hockey Challenge
The tournament has raised over $700,000.
“Through the funds raised, the money has gone directly into fueling research that otherwise wouldn’t have happened in Atlantic Canada,” said Julie Mackean, vice-president of philanthropy with the QEII Foundation.
“We’ve also sent a cardiologist to the Mayo Clinic to participate in research there and bring that back to Atlantic Canada.”
Boyd said he is amazed at what the tournament has become.
“It just seems to keep growing every year, we didn’t think it’d be this, but we’re glad it is.”