A couple hundred of Lucas Gaudet‘s friends from school and hockey as well as family friends attended a special memorial to pay their respects and say their final goodbyes at the Pierrefonds Sportsplex.
“He would want to be here with them, he would want to hold them and hug them and play with them and laugh, being the little joker that he was,” said his father, Guy Gaudet.
Lucas Gaudet’s ashes sat on a table set up in the middle of the rink, surrounded by some of the things he loved the most, such as his hockey jerseys and gear.
He was also surrounded by the people he loved and loved him the the most.
“ He was a father’s dream child, he was a gift,” said Gaudet.
“I miss him, I miss him so much.”
Lucas had been practicing hockey in that very rink since the age of four years old and became a top defenceman with the Pierrefonds Barracudas.
“If anywhere there should be a memorial, it should be here, because this is where he grew up,” said Marc Ghafari, who played hockey with Lucas.
For Alex Chin, another hockey teammate, it was important to attend the memorial.
“He would’ve done the same for us, he would’ve been there for any of us,” said Chin. “It’s definitely sad.”
There have been other events honouring Lucas’s life including a candlelight vigil, where his friends and family retraced his last steps.
They walked from John Rennie High School where Lucas was a student, to St Thomas highschool where he was allegedly stabbed.
A demonstration also took place March 5th to help draw attention to the number of violent deaths among teens.
Lucas’ death has been very difficult for the community to recover from and his family says this memorial is a way to find some healing and to say their final goodbyes.
“The happiest day of my life was the day he was born. My saddest day was the day he passed,” said Gaudet.
Gaudet says he wants politicians to stop imposing divisive policies and instead focus on building up the community so no other family has to go through what his has.