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Yesterday was an emotional one for many people in hockey, as it reminded many of us who have been the game for many years of a couple of friends we lost along the way: linesman Stephane Provost and player Peter Zezel.
Stephane died 10 years ago at age 37 from injuries suffered in a terrifying April 22nd motorcycle accident in Weston, Florida. The NHL lost a top-notch linesman, the officiating brotherhood lost a friend and colleague and his wife, Sandra, and daughters Ashley and Reily lost the most of all.
Stephane was a great guy, always smiling, upbeat and positive off the ice and a great teammate on the ice. I always enjoyed working with him. He was part of what my job so enjoyable and worth all the outside nonsense that also went with the turf.
The same could also be said of Peter, who would have celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday but was taken from us in May of 2009 due to a rare blood disorder.
Peter was one of those delightful guys who transcended the uniform he wore. No matter where he played, people just naturally gravitated toward him. As a referee, I appreciated that he treated everyone -- officials, arena employees, fans, etc -- with the same respect and caring he gave to his teammates. Peter always said hello to you and actually remembered and cared about things that would seem like simple small talk to others. He loved to laugh and make others smile.
My direct interactions with Peter were fairly limited within the scope of an official and a player but I liked him. My own playing career was quite a few years removed by the time he broke into the NHL but I always got a sense he would've been one of my favorite teammates had our playing days overlapped. His warm and humorous personality reminded me of some of my former playing teammates with whom I formed lasting friendships.
My favorite Zezel anecdote that shows his sense of humor: One time when I was on the road and he was playing for the Dallas Stars, I decided to get a haircut on the afternoon of a game day. The barber went a little overboard with the shears. That night, the first player I saw was Peter.
After greeting me, he said, "What's the name of that barber you went to?"
"Why?" I asked.
"No one should be allowed to do that one of our guys!" Zezel said, with a look of mock horror on his face.
We lost Pete and Stephane much, much too soon. However, they will never be forgotten by those who knew them.
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.
In addition to his blogs for HockeyBuzz every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Stewart writes a column every Wednesday for the Huffington Post.