Junior Hockey Team’s Captain Dies During Tournament In Southern Ontario

Eli Palfreyman, who had just been named captain of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Ayr Centennials, died this week in a small town during a pre-season tournament, the team said Wednesday.

In a statement, Centennials vice-president Brian Shantz said that the team is “devastated” by the death of the 19-year-old. “Please keep Eli’s family and all of our players in your thoughts and prayers. The members of Our Centennials and the people of Ayr are sad “what was being said. “Eli got the best care possible from our medical staff, and the ambulatory staff was quick to help him. In the next few days, doctors can tell us more.”

“We won’t say anything because we want to respect the family’s right to privacy at this very hard time.” Players and staff are getting help with their mental health and dealing with loss from the team.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Centennials sent out a tweet with photos of Palfreyman’s jersey:

Palfreyman, who is from Cambridge, Ontario, said it was an honor to be named captain in a video that was posted on the Centennials’ Instagram page five days ago and credited to 519 Sports Online.

See more

“I’ve been coming to games in Ayr ever since I moved to Cambridge,” he said. “Last year, it was an honor to be a part of the team as the assistant captain, and this year, my last year, it’s an honor to be the captain. Words can’t describe how honored I am to be in this position.”

Elite Prospects said that Palfreyman had played for the Cambridge Hawks and the Kitchener Dutchmen before joining the Centennials in 2021. He also played in the United States Premier Hockey League for the Atlanta Mad Hatters.

This week, the Centennials played in a tournament in southern Ontario. The match was held at the North Dumfries Community Complex in Ayr, which is 100 kilometers southwest of Toronto. Teams from Ontario, the U.S., and Germany were also there.

In a tweet, the Township of North Dumfries said that during a game, “one of their players died in a tragic way.”

The flags at the arena are now at half-staff.

Mayor says community ‘saddened’ by death

North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton, who was at Tuesday’s game, said it was “heartbreaking” that Palfreyman had died. “As a community, we are sad and mourn the loss of this young man along with our Cens family and his family. There are no good words, only sadness “she told CBC News in an email.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service said officers were sent to the North Dumfries Community Centre hockey arena on Tuesday because of a medical emergency.

“People in the neighborhood helped the person until emergency services arrived. The person was taken to Cambridge Memorial Hospital, where he was sadly found dead “CBC News was told by police. In an email, the GOJHL said that all of the exhibition games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday had been canceled.

“Because of how the incident happened, the GOJHL will not release any more information at this time. We will give you more details later, “what was being said.

In a tweet on August 29, the team said that the tournament was a “great chance for these young players to be seen by so many scouts,” including those from colleges, universities, the Ontario Hockey League, and National Hockey League teams. On Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, the tournament schedule said that the Centennials would play the Boston Jr. Bruins.

The GOJHL has more than two dozen teams that play in the Western, Midwestern, and Golden Horseshoe conferences.

On social media, many people wrote nice things about Palfreyman.

Stay tuned for more updates, Venturejolt.