I have hockey to thank for introducing me to so many people I have been proud to call friends, both in my years around the professional game and those I‘ve spent watching my son play at the youth level.  And if there is anything I have learned as the years have passed, it is that the value of all of those friendships cannot be overestimated, cannot be quantified, and cannot be replaced. 
 
This blog is about one of those friendships, formed more than 10 years ago when our son Chris's hockey path crossed that of a very likeable and talented young man by the name of Will MacDonald. In a flash, Will and Chris bonded, and it wasn’t long before the MacDonald and Kamal families were sharing plane rides and rental cars as we traveled to hockey tournaments all across North America. The boys played six of eight seasons together in Atlanta, a special time brimming with early, cold mornings at the rink, great wins, agonizing losses, countless pizza parties in hotel lobbies after games, and, best of all, unforgettable memories. 
 
I learned to appreciate Will's dad David on so many levels during that time and beyond. He loved his family, loved hockey, had an insatiable appetite for books - always non-fiction - and he was blessed with an incredible sense of humor. His trademark was hysterical one-liners, delivered in a uniquely droll and laconic way, and we shared many evenings together that overflowed with hockey talk and laughter.
 
When the boys left for prep school in the summer of 2005, our friendship with David and Janice MacDonald grew even stronger. I don't think a month of the year went by without a meeting of the “Sunday Supper Club,” a gathering of hockey-parent friends, most of whose boys had left town to pursue their hockey passion.  It was a time for reconnecting, keeping each other up-to-date on the kids, toasting family and friendship, and always sharing more laughs. And earlier this summer, we shared the MacDonald’s joy at the news Will had committed to play hockey at Princeton University.

Then, on a bright and sunny morning – August 10, 2007 - in Parry Sound, Ontario, David MacDonald was killed instantly when a pickup truck traveling in the other direction on Highway 69 veered across the undivided roadway and plowed into the MacDonald’s vehicle. David tried to swerve to miss the truck but took the brunt of the collision at the driver’s side door. At the time of the accident, he, Janice, and Will were vacationing with family in Parry Sound, as they did every year, and were simply on their way into town. Miraculously, Janice and Will survived, although Janice was hospitalized briefly with a broken sternum.

I know I speak for everyone who was fortunate to get to know David MacDonald well when I say I miss him immensely. And I grieve for Janice and Will, David’s daughters Christina and Katrina, and the entire extended family. But I will remember with great fondness all the dinners and the laughter, all the toasts to friendship and the kids, and all the time our families spent watching our kids and friendship grow.

If I could lift a tall, cold drink in a toast to David MacDonald now, I would congratulate him on living a beautifully simple and simply beautiful life. And I would thank him for the honor of sharing such a deep and warm friendship for so many years.

Just not enough.