Jordan’s Life
Jordan Boyd was a strapping 6’1”, 190 pound 16 year old athlete. Jordan lived for sports but it was hockey that was his passion. Jordan played hockey since the age of 5, continually excelling and working at the game. At the age of 16, Jordan was drafted to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in the June 2013 Entry Draft, selected by the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the 4th round, 66th overall. Jordan trained in Halifax that summer with a professional trainer and other hockey players. On August 11, 2013 Jordan along with his parents, Stephen and Debbie, arrived at the Acadie-Bathurst Titan training camp. Jordan was excited and in peak physical condition, having prepared all summer. After some team meetings that night, the next morning, August 12, 2013, Jordan attended his first team practice. According to the team, Jordan was relaxed and joking around in the dressing room prior to the practice. Jordan stepped on the ice and with the rest of the team went through a warm-up and completed a couple of drills. Approximately 10 minutes into the practice as he was about to start another drill, Jordan collapsed to the ice without warning. His parents in the stands at first did not realize what had happened. Jordan’s mother Debbie noticed a player fall without reason and thought it may have been Jordan. Jordan’s father Stephen immediately made his way towards the ice and their worst fears were confirmed. It was Jordan and it was clear there was something terribly wrong. Some confusion followed. EMT’s arrived about 8 minutes after Jordan collapsed. Efforts to save Jordan were not successful and approximately 45 minutes after he initially collapsed, Jordan’s parents were told by the emergency room doctor that Jordan could not be saved and that they could go in and say goodbye to him.
It was subsequently learned that Jordan had an inherited heart condition called ARVC (Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricle Cardiomyopathy). There was no known family history on either side of Jordan’s family of heart disease. Jordan had completed the QMJHL Player Medical Evaluation just 6 weeks earlier and deemed “fit to play”. This condition often has no symptoms so can be hard to detect.
Growing up in Bedford, Nova Scotia Jordan watched his older brother and other neighborhood kids playing street hockey from the time he was old enough to look out the window. He couldn’t wait to play the game. In fact, just as Jordan learned to walk, he found a cut-off hockey stick in the house and would run around inside with it, whacking everything he could find. By the time Jordan was three he was on skates and he never looked back. Jordan played all the sports kids do – baseball, soccer, lacrosse, football, golf – he wake boarded – but it was hockey he loved. When Jordan was asked to write stories as part of his school work, that story inevitably always had something to do with hockey. Jordan’s teachers would often ask if he could write about something other than hockey!
Jordan was known for his trademark smile. He loved life and all it had to offer. He could be mischievous but always with the best of intentions. Jordan made friends easily and had many, many friends. If you were Jordan’s friend, he valued that and you were his friend for life.
Jordan was very blessed in his life in many ways and for that he was grateful. Jordan would always say thank you whenever anything was done for him. He loved his family and would torment his sisters whenever he could. Jordan was just an all-around good guy.
As Jordan grew up, especially in the last year of his life, he grew into a real gentlemen, focused and driven. In grade 10 he attended Rothesay Netherwood School in New Brunswick – a year he really seemed to embrace. Jordan should be proud of how he lived his life and the examples he set for those he leaves behind. His family and friends are. Jordan would also be proud and grateful for all of the good things that are being done in his name.
