(Facebook/Emma Galloway)

By Angie Rolheiser

Hawks biggest fan

Nipawin Hawks community pays tribute to Joel Verklan

Jan 28, 2022 | 2:49 PM

A young man from Nipawin known for spreading warmth and joy is being remembered by the community.

Joel Verklan could often be found at the Centennial Arena as the Nipawin Hawks practice assistant for many years, helping where he could.

Former Nipawin Hawks head coach Doug Johnson told northeastNOW he will miss ‘Goobs’ for his uplifting attitude and his fist bumps.

“He was great at making people feel good about themselves, feel wanted and he genuinely cared about anybody and everybody that he met,” Johnson said. “He will be deeply missed.”

Johnson arrived in Nipawin in 2010 which is when he had the great fortune of meeting Verklan.

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“He asked me about my family and remembered everything I told him, he had a tremendous memory,” Johnson said.

Verklan who had autism passed away in hospital early Thursday morning, much to the surprise of family and friends.

The Hawks organizations is calling Verklan one of the biggest Hawks fans of all time.

“He loved the Hawks but he also just loved life and he always had a big smile on his face and wanted fist bumps everyday,” Johnson said. “It’s the little things that I will miss, and it was the little things that made him special.”

Johnson took time yesterday to contact former billets and staff to make sure they knew what happened and to make sure they were doing alright.

“Everybody is pretty shaken up and devastated because he was a guy you met once and he remembered you and you remembered him, he just left an impact on you when you met him,” Johnson said.

The local Co-op grocery store was graced with having Verklan on the staff and are also expressing their fortune of him being around the store.

Emma Galloway, the athletic therapist and equipment manager for the Hawks, has worked closely alongside Verklan for the past nine years.

“He came to the rink two days a week to help out and be around the guys,” Galloway said. “I got to know him and his family and have become very close with them, they have kind of adopted me into their family.”

Galloway referred to Verklan as ‘the vibrancy of life,’ spreading positivity wherever he went.

“His former billets came up with the nickname ‘Goobs’ because it meant a jolly soul, and that was Joel through and through,” Galloway said.

A big part of watching hockey for Verklan was the hat tricks, according to Galloway.

“He would have a bag packed to go to the rink so he could throw a hat trick, and if he watched a game at home, that bag of hats was beside him and would throw them at the T.V.,” Galloway said.

(Facebook/Nipawin Hawks)

Verklan was given a Hawks hat by Johnson when he graduated high school that had his nickname on the front, which he would wear to every game.

Upon hearing of the passing of ‘Goobs,’ a logo and sticker were created on Thursday to remember him by.

“I felt that having a hat represented who he was and what he was about and so I thought it was fitting to have a hat with ‘Goobs’ and the Hawks logo because it was something he wore all the time,” Galloway said.

The stickers have been placed on the helmets of each player which will be worn when the Hawks play tomorrow night.

“It means a big thing for the players as well as the Verklan family but it’s such a small thing for a guy that had such a vibrant life,” Galloway said.

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angie.rolheiser@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser