Ayr Centennials 'missing the heart and soul of our team' after captain’s death

Tributes are pouring in for Ayr Centennials captain Eli Palfreyman.

The 20-year-old junior B player died suddenly during a tournament on Tuesday, sending shockwaves through the village of Ayr, Ont. and the hockey community.

“Eli was loved. He was loved by a lot of people,” Ayr Centennials Vice President Brian Shantz said Thursday.

The team was playing the Boston Jr. Bruins in a pre-season tournament when Palfreyman collapsed in the dressing room during the second intermission.

“Our trainers acted immediately. They got his jersey all sliced off, and his shoulder pads, and they started working on him,” Shantz said. “The coaches and managers got a hold of his mother who was in the audience, and she’s a nurse, and she came in. We had an EMT present, and we had two doctors, so we gave him every possible chance.”

Palfreyman was transported to hospital where he later died.

‘HE KEPT THE TEAM TOGETHER'

Shantz described Palfreyman as an amazing person both on and off the ice.

“He was the captain that everybody wanted if you were on his team because if somebody took advantage of one of our players, they were going to answer to Eli,” Shantz said.

“We’re missing the heart and soul of our team.”

Flags at half mast at North Dumfries Community Complex, Ayr, ON. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News Kitchener)

It’s not just Palfreyman’s current teammates who are feeling the loss.

Scott Walker, president of the Guelph Storm coached Palfreyman for several years. He said the three-year junior B veteran was the ultimate team player.

“He was always one of those guys I had to have on the team,” Walker said. “He would do anything for you. He kept the team together and got along with all the guys.”

As condolences pour in, many people in Ayr had put hockey sticks out in memory of Palfreyman.

A hockey stick, red and white ribbon along with the number 17 is displayed on a tree in front of a home in Ayr, ON. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News Kitchener)

A memorial has also been growing in front of the North Dumfries Community Complex.

The Greater Ontario Hockey League is providing grief and mental health support for the Ayr Centennials organization.

“Usually when you have an emergency like that, a trauma, usually there isn’t a whole team sitting in the dressing room watching it, so our players are having a lot of trauma dealing with this,” Shantz said.

But he added Palfreyman’s spirit will be with them every time they lace up and hit the ice.

The team said a funeral memorial service is being planned to honour and remember Palfreyman in the coming days.