GENE'S BLOG: Saying Goodbye

I remember the day the Edmonton Oilers picked up Colby Cave off waivers from the Boston Bruins. At that time, I didn't know much about Colby. I did a little Google work, talked to a couple people and found out a little more about the newest Oilers forward.

The next day he made his debut for Edmonton against Vancouver. I did a "Cave" man opening with some props to welcome the viewers to the game and Colby to the team. The first thing I noticed about him was a great name. I ended up finding out that wasn't the only great part about Colby Cave.

I remember the first time I went and introduced myself to him. It was the morning skate before his Oilers debut against the Canucks. There was a lineup of people to talk to him. I waited 'til last and I kind of ran out of time because Colby had been so friendly with everyone else. He didn't want to end any of the conversations, instead waiting until someone else put a close to them. He still had time for me and it was my first glimpse into his ear-to-ear smile. It's one of those things that's easy to explain, but to do it justice you had to see it. A smile that lights up a room and a personality to go with it.

It was so easy to talk to Colby, whether it was on camera or just standing around his stall. He liked to chat and seemed excited any time I or others went to him. He was a people person. Easy to see and even better to feel when you were talking to him.

He's one of those kids that you wanted as a son, a brother or a friend, which you loved as a teamate. And if you had a daughter, you would definitely appreciate him as a son in law.

Colby was a hockey player who had a strong junior career with Swift Current that included being team captain. He used a combination of skill and lots of will to make it with the Bruins as an undrafted free agent. He eventually found his way to Edmonton and was on the verge of getting a stranglehold on an NHL job with the Oilers when tragedy struck.

There was a sick feeling in my stomach and the stomachs of the collective hockey community when we were first informed of Colby's medical situation. How could this be? Well, unfortunately it was. Life doesn't always explain itself. It just is and everyone is left to deal with it. For days, the hockey world gathered its best wishes, thoughts, prayers and tried desperately to channel it directly to a 25-year-old with so much going right in his life. However, he was laying in a Toronto hospital in a medically-induced coma.

You think of Colby and you think of his mom Jennifer, father Al, sister Taylor and wife Emily. Colby often spoke of his family and how they helped shape him as a person. He would tell funny stories about growing up in North Battleford and how his family, his mom, dad and sister all did their part to make him into who he was and what he was trying to achieve in the NHL. The kind of family you love to hear about and we all hope to be a part of.

The Cave family's impact was on display when they came home from Toronto on Monday and saw 15 kilometres of vehicles that ushered them back to the Battlefords. Jerseys, signs, honking of horns and tears from the community to the Cave clan.

Colby's greatest moment with Edmonton or greatest goal came against Pittsburgh earlier this season. When his afternoon was done, he called his wife. She was at the airport, which was sometimes the case when you are married to a player finding his footing in the NHL.

Colby often spoke of Emily and the support she gave him. Whether it was Providence to Boston or more geographically challenging Bakersfield to Edmonton, she was there with him or at least following him maybe a flight or a day behind.

Married last summer were the two, but soulmates long before the wedding rings made it official. Colby's smile was even a little brighter and a little wider when he spoke of Emily and her endless support. They were on their way to a great life together.

This past Saturday morning, the idyllic life they were to share and the Cave family's world came to a screeching halt. I shed a few tears first thinking of Colby then his family and his wife. I could not imagine their grief or bewilderment at how, in less than a week, their lives had changed in the worst possible way.

Colby will not be forgotten. His friends, family and his wife won't let it happen and neither will the Edmonton Oilers with the Colby Cave Memorial Fund, as proceeds will go toward community programs with an emphasis on mental health initiatives and providing access to sports for underprivileged children.

How could you forget such a great person with such a great name?

RIP, Colby Cave, and thanks for being you.