REMEMBERING KYLE BLOCK

A friend of mine in the broadcasting industry sent me a text this morning that sunk my heart.

Former Yorkton Terrier Kyle Block passed away, suddenly, at the age of 25 over the weekend.

Block, a native of Calgary, was playing senior hockey for Lanigan in the Long Lake Hockey League and played a game with them on Saturday night.  According to a spokesperson with the hockey team, he seemed fine and, simply, didn't wake up on Sunday morning.  So sad.

I knew Kyle a little bit; but my main memories of him come from each of his three seasons as a Terrier.

As a rookie (2005-06), the Terriers had him as a fourth line centre and he was the object of affection for every team in the league when talking to Ed Zawatsky about making a possible trade.  The Terriers were gunning for a second straight league title, a crown they would succeed in capturing without trading Block.  In fact, having a player like him on their fourth line proved to be a big advantage in the postseason as it allowed Zawatsky to play his fourth line more than most other clubs could.  Zawatsky and I weren't, at all, tight and didn't talk a lot about possible player moves; but I remember him telling me he felt pressure to make an impact trade at the deadline (the previous year he made a huge splash by getting Andrew Skrabek and Bob Graham from Flin Flon) and also saying if the only way he could make a trade was by dealing Block then he'd deal with the fall out in the event the Terriers' bid for a second straight championship came up short.  He wasn't trading him.  Period.

In his second year, the Terriers were defeated in the division finals by Melville in the seventh and deciding game and it was clear Melville had a better team; but the most dangerous three players in the series were Block, Chad Nehring, and Justin Menke.  I remember thinking every time they were on the ice, the Mils didn't have an answer for them and they were a threat to score all the time.  When Melville finally won, I recall thinking how tough it must be to beat a champion.  You could see that Kyle, Justin, and Chad were champions and hated losing.

Kyle's last year was a trying one for the Terriers.  They only had four players score more than ten goals and he led the way with 19.  They still had a decent team, but I remember going to games and thinking 'Well, if Kyle doesn't score tonight they Terriers don't have much of a chance.'  He was extremely valuable.  He played in all situations and was an extremely well rounded player.

Kyle was good with kids.  When Terrier players got out to the schools, Kyle was front and center.  He didn't strike me as an attention seeker at all, but he was mature.  He knew how to act and make a positive impression.  He represented the hockey team very well.

Rest in peace, Kyle.  Your family, friends, fans, and hockey brethren will miss you a great deal.