The Left Wing Lock

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Emma Poliquin Photography

If you see me today, I will likely have tears welling in my eyes. If there’s one thing I have learned these past few years is that you have to figure out a way to ride the emotional waves. Today I expect the waves to be high and sometimes I am not the best surfer.

The first ever Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup will be awarded and there will be reason to celebrate the eventual champion whether it is Detroit or Columbus, but I’ll look to the sky and think of my friend Matt as I have done throughout this tournament. Though he never came to Traverse City, he was very much a part of this tournament even before I knew what I was doing. He and I spent late nights posting photos, transcribing box scores and editing stories for Red Wings Central (RWC) before mainstream media started coming. As much as I have been a physical presence at this tournament since 1998, Matt was the force behind me guiding me especially in the early years when I had no idea what I was doing. Over the years I have gained credibility as an analyst and free-lance journalist and I have Matt to thank for much of that.

We both spent vacation time from day jobs to provide annual coverage of a sport and a team we loved. He often reminded me that we were “the good guys” because we were doing stories that no one else did and filling a gap Red Wings fans were hungry for. Neither of us made a cent from the work we produced as it was more about finding the news story that was being missed and discovering young talent before anyone else.

Matt was persistent and intense, but it was because he was passionate about the game and the team he loved. He did things because as a fan that was what he was interested in and as it turns out from the RWC and CapGeek followings others shared his passion. In the early years I felt he brought me along for the ride, but in actuality I think he saw something in me that he could develop. Years later he would often tap into my experiences at the prospects tournaments and training camp as we collaborated on RWC material. In RWC’s final year, I helped him compile the weekly prospects report which was both a sign of the battle he was facing, but also the fact that he had grown to trust me and my expertise.

I often think back on that last year of RWC and I am thankful for it because we were working together regularly. We had a reason to communicate at a more frequent clip and maybe it took his mind off his illness. I think when you are sick, you strive for normalcy on any level and our collaborative partnership was what he and I knew since 1998.

When you lose someone important to you, there are times of the year that are more difficult than others. With the loss of my mother nearly two years ago, I find that May is a month I would just like to sleep through with Mother’s Day, her birthday and the anniversary of her death all within weeks of each other. September and June will be the times I think about Matt Wuest the most with the NHL draft and the NHL Prospect Tournament and Red Wings Training Camp. There is an empty void where his presence and Red Wings knowledge once was and it just becomes more pronounced during those months.

So today as they hand out the first ever Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup, I’ll be thinking about him and those late nights of trying to piece together the broken english from European prospects into something readable and interesting. I’ll be thinking about the thrill we both shared when a scout or a GM knew what RWC was or who we were. I’ll think about how far I have come as a journalist and analyst and know Matt gave me this platform and helped me develop. There will be tears and sadness for what is no longer here, but there will also be gratitude and pride for all that he gave me personally and all that he accomplished in his 35 years on earth. RIP my friend…