Bids fly during auction for scholarship in memory of Bedford hockey player

BEDFORD – Greg Dobson is still getting used to life without his little brother Jordan Boyd.

“The last couple months, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. You have days that are pretty quiet and that’s when it sinks in a little bit. It gets pretty hard,” he said.

But the 21-year-old hopes the young hockey player will be remembered through a scholarship.

Boyd collapsed and died August 12 during a hockey training camp in Bathurst. The teen had been drafted in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and was trying out for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

View image in full screen

On Friday night, hundreds of people packed Brewster’s Bar and Grill in Bedford for a live auction to raise money for a scholarship.

Kody Cuvelier organized the auction. He is also dating Boyd’s older sister and says the fundraiser is an emotional one.

“People aren’t out here to get bargains. They’re out here to support a really good cause,” he said.

Cuvelier expects to raise between $20,000 and $25,000 during the auction. Items were donated by the community and included such as gift baskets, a signed photograph of former Halifax Mooseheads star Nathan MacKinnon, hockey sticks and bikes. The bids were fast and furious.

Boyd starting playing hockey at a very young age. Dobson says he aspired to make it to the NHL and notes that hockey had a strong influence in the teen’s life.

“Throughout school, all his school projects had to do with hockey, something about his favourite player or role model. Since he was little, it was hockey, hockey, hockey,” Dobson said.

Money collected will be used to offer one scholarship worth $500 to $1,000 to a hockey player in the Bedford Minor Hockey Association and another worth between $1,000 and $3,000 to a graduating grade 12 student and hockey player within Hockey Nova Scotia.

“The scholarships are for someone who is just a good well-rounded kid like Jordan. Jordan was great in school. He worked hard. He worked very hard in hockey,” Cuvelier said.

“If we can help two or three families every year through this scholarship fund, what better way to help Jordan’s legacy live on?”

Friends and family say they were overwhelmed to see the community pack the bar for the auction.

Ryan Yould played hockey with Boyd starting at the tender age of four years old. He says he was devastated by the hockey player’s death but is blown away from the generosity of the community.

“I think Jordan would be amazed by all this. He would be down here with a smile,” he said.

Cousin Colin Boyd says the hockey player was not only a good friend but a great family member.

“I’m so glad that everyone is coming around and remembering him as he should be, which was an amazing guy,” he said.

Though the final tally from the auction will take some time to figure out, Dobson hopes Boyd’s legacy lives on through the scholarship.

“He was an energetic, fun and kindhearted teen but he was very responsible and driven towards his goal of moving forward in hockey.”

More information on fundraising efforts can be found in the following link: http://jordanboyd.ca/