Jimmy Hayes laid to rest

After Jimmy Hayes was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008, he was brought into a room in what was then known as the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa for his perfunctory media scrum with the local beat reporters.

As a means to break the ice, a Toronto writer simply asked, ‘Can you tell us a little about yourself?’”

Hayes politely nodded, and he responded in typical fashion.

“My name is Jimmy Hayes,” he said, adding with an unmistakable pride, “and I’m from Dorchester, Massachusetts.”

Hayes, who died at the age of 31 last week, never failed to represent his hometown.

And on Monday, Dorchester — along with a good chunk of the hockey world — turned out for Hayes and his family for his funeral Mass at St. Ann’s Chuch on Neponset Avenue. As the mourners filed into the church ahead of the casket, a lone bagpiper played a lilting, somber version of “For Boston,” the fight song of Boston College, where both Jimmy and his younger brother Kevin, who fought his way through an emotional eulogy, played hockey before going on to their respective NHL careers.

On Sunday, thousands of people came to Florian Hall to pay their respects to the Hayes family during visiting hours, spending hours in a line that extended along the side street behind the hall.

Shaun O’Sullivan, president of Dorchester Youth Hockey and the oldest in a large, well-known neighborhood family that saw brother Chris make it to the NHL, relayed a conversation he had with his friend, Boston firefighter Mike Ball, on Sunday at Florian.

“He said ‘I looked at the line and there were four NHL All-Stars followed by a family from Dorchester followed by three guys from BC followed by a group of kids from Adam Corner.’ I said ‘Yeah, that sounds like a Hayes crowd, all right.’”

After the funeral Mass, the procession passed by Florian, where hundreds of youth hockey players from Dorchester and neighboring towns lined Hallet Street with their hockey sticks held high in salute as the cars traveled through en route to Cedar Grove Cemetery.

When the last car passed, the kids brought their sticks down and gave a final stick tap on the pavement.

First responders were called to Jimmy Hayes’ Milton home on Aug. 23 where he was pronounced dead. A cause of death has not yet been determined. It is not considered suspicious. Hayes, who played two years with the Bruins in a seven-year NHL career, leaves behind his wife, Kristen, and his two young sons Beau and Mac along with huge extended family and countless friends.

Those in Dorchester appreciated the big things Hayes did, like winning a national championship at BC and making it to the NHL, but also the seemingly little things that meant as much, if not more.

O’Sullivan said the last week has been “overwhelming, and devastating at the same time.”

“With the Hayes family in our community, they’ve always given back, whether it’s a turkey shoot, a Christmas pageant or Dorchester Day, any type of celebration, they’re always a part of,” said O’Sullivan. “Jimmy and Kevin, if they were going though the neighborhood and saw kids playing street hockey, they’d get out and play street hockey with the kids. Any time we’d ask them to come down to speak at a banquet, they’d be there. The parents (Kevin Sr. and Shelagh) were there at the dedication of the street hockey rink at Garvey Park. Anything we’ve ever asked of them, they’ve showed up, Shelagh, Kevin and all the kids. They’re such a big part of the fabric of our community and the culture of the city of Boston. Whatever experiences Jimmy and Kevin had, they always brought it back to the neighborhood. Jimmy was just a tremendous leader. And the sense of humor that the family has, has kept everyone on an even keel. We’re all hurting so much, but we have to find a way to support this family and be with them during this time. And afterwards, too.”

O’Sullivan’s son Nolan, 13, was there in his Dorchester Chiefs hockey jersey with his stick held high.

“Every day, I used to watch highlights with my dad on YouTube on Jimmy and he’d always talk about him as a reference to Dorchester Youth Hockey,” said Nolan. “He’d say ‘(Hayes) is a great player and respectful to everyone. And he’s a great leader.”

Ryan Higgins, 12, held an American flag as the procession rolled by.

Said Higgins: “It’s just really sad. We just want to be here to support the family.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2Wv6Epr