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September 7, 2025
Ken Dryden - A Truly Honourable Person
Ken Dryden was truly an honourable person that I will gratefully miss. He has touched so many lives, and I am incredibly grateful to have been one of them.
When I was six years old, I was asked to play goal for my hockey team in Barrie where I backstopped my team to a 1-0 shutout. I was never good enough to make a career out of hockey, but I loved being a goaltender, and a big reason I loved it was from the brief but inspirational career of Ken Dryden.
The first time I met Ken Dryden was at the last public gathering the Toronto Maple Leafs put on at Maple Leaf Gardens. Little did I know at that time, that years later I would have hundreds of engaging discussions and social interactions with one of my idols of all-time. In 2004, I was an Area Director of the Liberal Party of Canada, Ontario Region. My roles were to act as a liaison between the party and the individual ridings I represented. Between 2004 and 2011, one of the ridings I represented was York Centre, where Ken Dryden served admirably in his political career.
Ken was everything that I admire in a political figure. His ideas for positive change across Canada were inspirational and I had the most incredible discussions about a myriad of subjects within hockey, sports in general, reducing and ending poverty, giving every opportunity for children and youths, supporting all individuals, and making Canada better. I have loved his published works and have spoken to him about why he has written what he has and his thought process when he has sat down to putting an idea on paper. He was not a politician; he was a visionary, but he was also most interested in finding out about each person he met. He would take the time to ask me about my thoughts and my ideas, and he genuinely cared for Canada and Canadians.
I am disappointed that Canadians did not get an opportunity to see what he could have done as Prime Minister of Canada. I am just glad he had a chance to bring his knowledge and experience to public service, even for a little while.
Ken Dryden did many incredible things throughout his life that left a lasting impression on me in my life. I have loved his words on paper, his ideas that he shared with the Canadian public, and his personal stories of his life, but I will truly miss one of the most honourable individuals and a hero to me of all-time.
 
Until next time, Ward out!
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