The Airdrie Lightning U18 AA boys' hockey team is hosting a tournament in early January in memory of Ryan Couling, an Airdrie hockey player who passed away in November after a 19-month battle with cancer at the age of 21.
The Ryan Couling Memorial U18 AA tournament will run from Jan. 5 to 8, featuring four U18 AA boys' hockey teams from south-central Alberta.
Lightning head coach Mark Kulynych said discussions about how best to memorialize Couling, who played for the local U18 AA team from 2016 to 2019, started shortly after the young man's passing. He said he and Cameron Davies, a parent of a player on this year's Lightning roster, brainstormed ideas and came up with hosting a tournament in Couling's honour.
“Cam and I kind of chatted about doing something for Ryan on the Wednesday after he had passed, just as an alumni thing for the U18 AA team because I know he played on that team for a couple of years and his brother played on that team,” Kulynych said.
“[Couling's father] Gary is one of our closest friends, so we felt we needed to do something to give back and keep Ryan’s legacy going. The couple things we got over the finish line were pretty special, and I know they truly appreciate us doing this.”
The inaugural tournament will feature four teams, including the Lightning, the Wheatland Chiefs, the Calgary Northstars, and the Foothills Bisons U18 AA squads. Kulynych said he hopes the following year's tournament expands to 12 or 16 teams.
In addition to honouring Couling's memory, Kulynych said the upcoming tournament also aims to give the competing players an opportunity to catch the eye of of junior team scouts.
“We’re hoping it grows to become one of the bigger AA tournaments in the province, and somewhere for scouts to come out,” he said. “We want to showcase these kids, especially ones who are in their last year of minor hockey.”
It will also serve as a platform to raise awareness of Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma – the rare form of liver cancer that Couling battled.
The tournament will begin on Thursday, Jan. 5 with a memorial ceremony before the first games get underway.
Most of the tournament's games will be held in Airdrie at either the Ron Ebbesen Arena or Genesis Place Recreation Centre. However, due to the resumption of regular-season schedules that same weekend, as well as a separate U15 tournament in Airdrie, Kulynych said an arena in Carstairs is also going to host games on the Friday.
“It’s the first week back after break, so it’s pretty jam-packed,” he said.
As the Lightning U18 AA was the last minor hockey team Couling played for before his cancer diagnosis, Kulynych said another way the team is honouring his memory is by implementing something called a 'Forever Captaincy.' Basically, he said that means whoever is selected as the Lightning's captain from next season onward will wear number eight on their jersey – the same number Couling wore for the team.
According to Kulynych, the Airdrie hockey community has rallied together since Couling's passing in various ways. He noted some teams have donned stickers on their helmet with Couling's initials and number on them, and that small gesture has even expanded to teams in other provinces as well.
“The Airdrie community has really come together for Ryan and the Coulings,” he said. “To be honest, it’s been very emotional and overwhelming.”
Lastly, Kulynych said he wanted to give a shout-out to Cam Davies for being instrumental in pulling the tournament together with just three weeks' notice.
“I honestly don’t know the number of hours he’s put into this but he’s kind of stick-handled this himself for the scheduling and getting teams involved,” he said. “I’ve dabbled and helped out in some of the decision-making, but I’ve done nothing compared to Cam. He’s really put in the time, so a huge shout-out to him because this wouldn’t happen without him.”
For a tournament schedule, follow @RC8_Memorial on Twitter or visit ryancoulingmemorialtournament.com
