It was a rough weekend for Prince George’s hockey community.
First, it was the Humboldt Broncos tragic bus crash shaking up people at all levels of the sport on Friday.
Then on Sunday, former Cougar Brock Hirsche passed away following a lengthy battle with testicular cancer at the age of 26.
Hirsche quickly became one of the best people former Cougars play-by-play man Dan O’Connor ever came across.
“He was the kind of player every single one of his teammates loved, he was this heart and soul type of guy who worked extremely hard in the community and was a leader, somebody everybody seemed to gravitate towards.”
“You know, you could just tell the coaching staff, the management and fellow players had just this respect for Brock.”
The former play-by-play man was just getting started with the Cougars in the 2011-12 season when the young hockey player went out of his way to make O’Connor feel welcome.
“When I first started with the Cougars, Brock Hirsche was one of the first to go out of his way to introduce himself to me and really did anything with his power to get me comfortable.”
The Lethbridge product played 161 games over four seasons with the Cougars, amassing 61 points during his tenure and also suited up for three seasons in the university ranks with his hometown Pronghorns.
His best year at the U of L was his first when he recorded 12 points in 26 games in 2013-14.
It’s pretty safe to assume Hirsche was an inspiration, not just to his teammates but all of junior hockey.
“He was just a fellow who inspired me and inspired many with his courage and positivity along with his outlook and a guy who just never really let his situation bring him down.”
“I consider myself so fortunate to have known Brock and thinking back to the many times I’ve been able to visit with him, talk with and to have gotten to know him over the last seven years is remarkably special to me, I ‘ll never forget him and my heart just breaks for his family,” added O’Connor.
The Prince George Cougars are inviting the public to come to CN Centre today & Wednesday from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, to sign banners for both Humboldt and the family of Hirsche.