Friends and family of Jordan Boyd are paying tribute to the hockey player in the form of memorial tattoos.
Almost a year has passed since Boyd collapsed and died on the ice during his first day of training camp with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Aug. 12, 2013.
Boyd was only 16 at the time of his sudden death, but his friends and family say they have been left with a lifetime of memories.
“I just wanted to honour him. He’s one of my best friends on and off the ice,” says Ryan Yould. “I thought it was the perfect design just because the hockey stick represents a cross with a ribbon with his number in the middle. I added his name in above so I thought it was very fitting.”
Boyd’s friends all have tattoos inked on different parts of their bodies in his memory. Each tattoo is unique, adding special meaning for each of them.
“I have his initials, JJLB, and the year, so 1997 to 2013,” says Brandon Saarloos.
“I have JJLB on mine too, which is both of our initials, actually. We have the exact same initials, which is a nice coincidence,” says Jake Barter.
“It’s got Jordan’s number 17,” says Boyd’s brother, Greg Dobson. “It’s the last number he wore in hockey when we played for Rothesay.”
Dobson was the first person to get a tattoo in memory of Boyd, and his friends quickly followed suit.
“It’s hard to keep count. There’s a lot of people who have paid tribute to him by having a tattoo,” says Dobson. “I’d say there’s anywhere between 10 and 20, if not more that we’re not even aware of.”
“It’s kind of a significant thing to have with me because there is always a piece of Jordan coming with me everywhere I go,” says Barter. “It keeps me company all the time I guess, helps me remember him.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Matt Woodman
