(Quebec) The dream day that Jonathan Marchessault wanted to experience was darkened by the death of his mother, a little over 24 hours before his number 18 was retired by the Remparts.
In mourning, the former star striker of the Red Devils still wanted to participate in the ceremony in order to pay tribute to “his first fan” in front of the thousands of spectators present.
“It’s hard for the whole family,” he said after paying her a vibrant tribute on the ice. “Anyone who knew my mother knows that a moment like today would have been one of the happiest of her life.”
PHOTO JONATHAN ROY, PROVIDED BY THE QUEBEC REMPARTS
The number 18 banner hoisted to the ceiling of the arena
The 33-year-old athlete recalled how much his mother, Lesly Marchessault, 70, would have liked to see his family name appear alongside the Remparts greats, Lafleur, Savard, Radulov, Chouinard, Vlasic, Gagné, and the others in the heights of the Videotron Centre.
“I was close to her for a long time, when I was in junior, she was very good to me, she was incredible,” remembered the new Nashville Predators forward. “It’s horrible what we’re going through, but it’s part of life. She would have wanted us all to be here as a family, that’s why we did this.”
Several friends present
Surrounded by former teammates, including his three “amigos”, Frédérick Roy, Mikaël Tam and Brian Cayouette, Marchessault also counted on the presence of Jonathan Roy, Joël Champagne, Maxime Lacroix, Mathieu Lavallée and Ryan Bourque, players with whom he shared the same locker room between 2007 and 2010.
During his speech, the Stanley Cup and 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy champion thanked several of his loved ones, including his father, for teaching him to skate, his brother Jamie, for “toughening him up”, Nicole Bouchard and the Reds’ senior management.
PHOTO JONATHAN ROY, PROVIDED BY THE QUEBEC REMPARTS
Jonathan Marchessault waves to the crowd.
Surrounded by his family
Even Patrick Roy, who called him “the worst player on the ice” after a two-goal, one-assist performance in a 3-2 win, or who ridiculed him on the bus for eating a muffin when all his teammates were eating them, received thanks for believing in him and pushing him to always want more, in hockey as in other areas of his life.
“No, I hadn’t finished the muffin,” he joked, referring to the bus anecdote.
Sitting in the front row right in the centre of the red carpet, his wife, Alexandra, and four children, James, Victoria, Will and Henry John, all received words of affection from the former centre for the local club, who is due to leave for Nashville on Sunday at noon.
An inspiration for young people
The tribute ceremony to the seventh most productive player of all time in the history of the second generation of the Red Devils in the regular season moved everyone, including the coaches, Carl Mallette of the Victoriaville Tigres and Éric Veilleux of the Remparts.
“It was extraordinary,” Veilleux exclaimed. “It was easy to see by watching the attention of the people that did not diminish from beginning to end. I had the chance to direct against him and he deserves a lot of credit. A story like that says a lot of things, it encourages many people.”
“It was very, very touching, hats off to him for his career and his resilience,” Mallette said in turn. We’re watching him closely and his journey is one of the inspiring stories for our players.”