Heather Wright/The Independent

Chris Edgar says it “impossible” to think about this year’s hockey season at LCCVI without his mentor and coaching partner Bobby Gould.

Gould died Saturday after a short illness. Born in Petrolia, Gould’s passion for hockey took him first to the University of New Hampshire and earned his teaching degree and then went all the way to the NHL where he played eleven seasons between 1980 and 1990 with the Atlanta Flames, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals, and Boston Bruins.

Once that pro career was over, Gould and his family returned to Oil Springs, bought a farm and Gould began his teaching career – first at Riverview Central and then at LCCVI.

Edgar says Gould was a local hero and remembers travelling to Washington as Novice in minor hockey to see him play.

“We played some exhibition games in the area, and then we got to go watch watch (the Capitals) play,” he says adding Gould stopped by the hotel to visit the parents, many of whom he knew. “He was friends with everybody, and then we got to tour the dressing room and all that stuff. So it was really really neat.”

When Gould retired from pro hockey, he returned to Lambton and stepped right into coaching minor hockey; as a kid Edgar played for him with the Petrolia Jets.

“Getting a chance to play with the guy that we had seen play in NHL and knew that he was from Petrolia, it was awesome to get a chance to to experience that and kind of get an idea of what it was like to be coached by a pro.”

It was an experience hundreds of LCCVI students had as Gould and Edgar coached the Boys’ Hockey Team together, even after Gould retired.

“It was about this time of year every single year since he’s retired that I would send him a text message and say, ‘Just so you know, we’re going to be skating at the first of November for the high school season to get going. Are you going to be there?’ And every year he’d be, ‘Oh, maybe I don’t know, we’ll see.’ But of course, I knew that when it comes to the first tryout, I knew that he’d be sitting there with his skates on, ready to go.”

And Edgar says, Gould connected with the students.

“He was someone that always demanded the best,” says Edgar. “He didn’t really care what our expectations were. He would just always constantly push this idea that no matter what the score, if you guys work your hardest and play hard, you will be fine. I think that simple message really resonates with the kids, and especially in the high school hockey season, when you’re kind of mixing a whole bunch of kids together from different teams, having that constant message from him over the years of , we’ll take care of the organization stuff, you guys just kind of listen to what we’re saying, try to buy into what we’re doing, and work hard, and everything will work out.”

Gould shaped, he added, not only the LCCVI program but minor hockey in Petrolia.

“He is responsible for where we are at as a programme. Without him and without his impact on our school and our community more than anything – I think as the whole minor hockey community – we wouldn’t be anywhere close to what we’re at now as as a programme.

And Gould made a impact in Edgar’s life.

“He’s been a huge mentor, and I try to kind of mimic everything he does.

“The lessons that I’ve learned from him are countless. Not just in kind of the hockey aspect, but how to carry yourself in the community, recognizing that there’s so much more to everything than just the wins and losses. It’s more of like how you present yourself as a coach or how you present yourself as an individual connected to the school or my hockey association.”

Edgar will begin preparing for this year’s high school hockey season soon and Gould’s death leaves a void.

“It’s going to be really different. Come in the next month here when we start thinking about the season… it is going to be different. It’s going to be a real difference for us, and not just us, the whole league, like everyone that’s connected to minor hockey and and the high school hockey, is going to feel the void of not having him around.”

A Celebration of Life will be held for Gould Thursday from from 4 pm to 8 pm at Wyoming Fairgrounds, 595 Main Street, Wyoming.