An upcoming hockey tournament at Coquitlam’s Planet Ice will help young players achieve their sporting and educational dreams, even as its namesake had his ended by a tragic accident.
The Ronin Sharma Memorial Tournament will be played July 19 to 21.
Proceeds go to the Ronin Sharma Foundation, which has distributed more than $26,000 in scholarships, financial aid and equipment to student athletes since it was founded two years ago.
Sharma, 16, was one of three teammates from the Delta Hockey Academy who were killed in a single-vehicle accident on Aug. 21, 2021. The others were Caleb Reimer and Parker Magnuson.
Sharma played for the BC Hockey League’s (BCHL) Langley Rivermen.
Reimer played 19 games for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League and Magnuson had been trying to crack the roster of the BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers.
Their deaths elicited messages of support from across the hockey world, including Hockey Canada, the Humboldt Broncos, the NHL and the Vancouver Canucks.
The memorial hockey tournament was started in 2022 to “honour Ronin’s legacy and passion for hockey,” said a statement on the event’s website. The previous two tournaments were held at the Surrey Sport and Leisure Centre.
Teams will compete in six age divisions, from 13-14 to adult, including one women’s group.
