Late Thrasher honored in hometown

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ELMIRA, Ontario — The tears still flow when LuAnn Snyder talks about her son, even on this, such a happy occasion.

In a tiny town in south Ontario, the Thrashers visited the Dan Snyder Memorial Arena on Sunday. The rink is the fruition of a dream that Dan Snyder never got to see realized: a new community center and ice hockey rink in his hometown, remarkably completed 18 years ahead of schedule.

Six years after the Thrashers forward died in an automobile accident, the rink has been raised and named in his memory. The Thrashers spent an off-day helping to christen the building, officially opened Sept. 11, with a public practice and autograph session.

“I think it was cathartic [for our family],” LuAnn said. “[Dan] knew this was going to happen. So it’s been kind of a personal journey for us to see this through for him.”

Dan always knew his hometown needed a new rink. Town officials agreed and planned for one to be built‚ in 2017. That was not good enough for Dan. He wanted it sooner. Then three months after learning the town’s plans, Dan died from injuries sustained when a car driven by teammate Dany Heatley crashed in Atlanta. Dan died Oct. 5, 2003, at age 25.

“It’s pretty emotional,” said Graham Snyder, Dan’s father. “It’s a dream come true in a lot of ways. It’s a blessing for this community. ... That has been a real inspiration for us as a family.”

Through the Dan Snyder Foundation, the family raised more than $750,000 that went toward the completion of the $22 million project.

“It’s amazing,” LuAnn said of the event, attended by an estimated 1,500. “The reality for us has been life without our child since he died. There is also the reality of the support we’ve received from the local community, the hockey community, the Atlanta Thrashers and the Atlanta community.”

LuAnn’s eyes welled when she spoke of the watch that belonged to Dan. It became a symbol of the loss as well as the subsequent healing.

The watch was broken in three pieces in the accident. LuAnn kept the face, which she still carries. She gave the band to then-head coach Bob Hartley and several links to Ilya Kovalchuk, one of the two remaining Thrashers to have played with Dan in Atlanta.

“I still don’t know to this day what made me do it,” LuAnn said. “It was a symbolic gesture. Maybe it can put us all back together.”

The team made a T-shirt bearing a picture of the three pieces of the watch and wore it that season under their jerseys.

Though those shirts are long gone, Snyder’s memory has not been lost upon the franchise.

Thrashers general manager Don Waddell approached the NHL before the season, requesting an early weekend date in either Buffalo or Toronto, cities close enough for a stopover in Elmira.

“They are such terrific people,” Waddell said of the Snyder family. “Dan was part of our family. When you have people like this, you want to stay involved, whichever way you can. ... Not a day goes by that we don’t think about [the accident].

“What’s important here is we don’t have a lot of players left [from Snyder’s tenure]. This gives them an opportunity to come here, meet the Snyders and see what this is all about.”

All the Thrashers got to meet the Snyders right away.

As the team bus arrived at the community center, LuAnn greeted each player with a hug and Graham a handshake. Kovalchuk got an extra squeeze.

“That’s a very great family,” Kovalchuk said. “Dan is always in our hearts.”

The community center, which coincidentally is located on Snyder Avenue, has become a passion for the family.

Before the Thrashers arrived, Jake Snyder played in a rec league game on the rink named in honor of his brother.

During the game, his infant son, named after his uncle — Reed Daniel Snyder — was being held by grandmother LuAnn.

“I know how much this meant to Dan,” Jake said. “He knew this was going to move forward. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to see it finished. He would be very proud of this community.”

The link between ice and family was palpable.

“It was great [having Jake playing] and my grandson will be out here playing too and that will be an even bigger thrill,” LuAnn said.

That day will come, but for now the Snyders were thrilled with the present, which on this Sunday was a brand new building, complete with two ice rinks, a swimming pool and fitness center.

LuAnn wears a three-diamond ring she calls a past, present and future ring.

The biggest stone, mounted in the middle, represents the present.

“I live in the present,” LuAnn said. “I pattern my life after that, especially since Dan died. I can’t go back and change it. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow but I live today to the fullest.”