The first annual Logan Hunter Memorial Golf Tournament is kicking off this year and his family is raising money to send a young hockey player to a summer hockey training program in his honour.
While Hunter is most remembered for his prowess in the hockey rink, mom Shauna Nordstrom said the young right winger also had a passion for golf.
“Golf was pretty much as important as hockey to Logan,” Nordstrom said, adding he went on to play junior hockey rather than golf because of his desire to be a part of a team.
Hunter was one of 16 people who were killed, including former St. Albert Raiders hockey players Jaxon Joseph, Conner Lukan and Stephen Wack, when a semi truck collided with the Humboldt Broncos team bus in April 2018. Another 13 others were injured.
The golf tournament will help raise money for two of Hunter’s other passions in life: hockey and animals. Funds from the tournament will be put into the Logan Hunter Foundation, an organization that was started by a family friend last year who made a large donation to the fund to get the ball rolling.
“Logan just loved animals and we feel that is really important to him. His foundation is really going to represent him,” Nordstrom said.
The Logan Hunter Foundation pays for one young deserving hockey player to attend Evolve Pro Hockey, which along with Pivotal Physiotherapy is helping to put on the tournament.
This year, the Logan Hunter Foundation was able to send St. Albert Raiders player Jaxon Dube, who is attending the training this summer.
Hunter attended Evolve Pro Hockey the summer before he went to Humboldt and his mom said it made a huge difference in his game and skill level. Nordstrom was surprised to learn he had still kept in touch with the training staff at Evolve throughout the year to ask for tips on workouts and training.
Pivotal Physiotherapy works closely with all the athletes at Evolve Pro Hockey and worked with Hunter. They are organizing the tournament with Nordstorm and the family. Last year, the physiotherapy organization hosted a spin class to raise money for Logan’s foundation, which helped send one young hockey player to the summer training program.
Nordstrom said she feels a close connection to the organizations involved in the tournament.
“I feel that the relationships that were important to Logan are relationships that are important to me. I want to learn all the other stuff about my son that I didn’t know, because you don’t know everything,” Nordstrom said.
The funds from the 50/50 draw will go to Zoe's Animal Rescue, which is a volunteer-run, shelterless rescue in Edmonton, Alberta.
The tournament is already filled up and will have 216 golfers participating. Nordstrom said she knows quite a few of the people participating in the tournament.
“For most of the golfers, there is a connection to Logan and to our family,” Nordstrom said.
On each hole of the tournament, the golfers will read fun facts about Hunter so they are able to learn more about him.
“We really wanted the people that did not get a chance to meet Logan to know a little bit about him,” Nordstrom said.
They will also be handing out his favourite chips at one hole, Miss Vickie's salt and vinegar chips, and cans of Coke at another, which Nordstrom said was part of his pre-game meal.
The tournament is taking place Wednesday, July 17, at The Quarry in Edmonton and Nordstrom said she wants the day to be filled with happiness.
“He (would want) the day to be filled with laughter and smiles more than tears and so that's our focus. And it does feel good to be around people that loved him and still love him, so that gives me strength,” Nordstrom said.
“We are just really going to focus on what a great young man he was. We were blessed to have him, a beautiful boy.”
