Todd Ewen was known more for his on-ice scraps than he was his off-ice creativity, but former NHL referee Kerry Fraser chose to remember Ewen by posting a creative gift he received from the late NHLer.
Since Todd Ewen’s heartbreaking passing on Sept. 19, former players, teammates and friends have been posting their memories of the late NHL tough guy. And Wednesday night, former NHL referee Kerry Fraser joined by sharing his own, unique memory.
Fraser, who refereed in the NHL from 1973 to 2010, took to Twitter to post a photo of a gift Ewen had made for him. Ewen’s creation, a pair of hockey pants made entirely out of hockey tape, was put together while he watched from the sidelines as a healthy scratch in the post-season. He then gifted the pants to Fraser.
It’s often said the toughest guys on the ice are some of the nicest away from the rink, and Fraser’s tribute to Ewen shows the kind of person he was. Fraser even Tweeted out that he has kept the hockey-tape pants in his trophy case all of these years, calling Ewen a, “unique and great person.”
Ewen put that creativity to good use off the ice. According to the Montreal Gazette, Ewen wrote and illustrated a children’s book titled ‘A Frog Named Hop,’ sculpted and played four different instruments.