'He thought us the difference between being alive and living'

Brad Treliving was Chris Snow’s boss, but the lessons learned traveled both directions.

While Treliving was general manager of the Calgary Flames and Snow was an assistant GM, mainly in charge of analytics, the value of data and video delivered by Snow was an education.

As Snow was memorialized on Thursday, Treliving said the biggest lesson had nothing to do with pucks or ice.

“He thought us the difference between being alive and living,” Treliving said at Snow’s memorial service.

Snow died Sept. 30 at the age of 42 of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). When diagnosed in the summer of 2019 Snow — whose father, two uncles and a cousin all passed away from the disease — was given six to 12 months to live.

For the next four-plus years, Snow not only maintained his duties with the Flames, but with his wife, Kelsie, and their two children, Cohen and Willa, became tireless activists, helping raise awareness of ALS and helping raise hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Through social media and blogs, the Snow family shared the ups and downs of their lives, facing the struggles with love and a positive spirit.

Kelsie, as a farmer’s daughter, admitted she was raised on Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

“Walking through life next to Chris changed all of that,” she said in a eulogy. “It was impossible to be in his orbit and not see the beauty in this world, because he was always, always pointing it out.”

That enthusiasm drove Chris Snow to swerve his career from promising and talented young sportswriter to one of the pioneers of hockey analytics, incorporating raw data into all aspects of the game, from strategy, personnel decisions and even contract negotiations.

That enthusiasm also helped the Snows find the courage to keep persevering, even through the darkest moments. Kelsie, Cohen and Willa dropped the ceremonial first puck prior to the Flames’ season opener on Wednesday.

The next day, they said goodbye along with more than 1,000 others.

“My father was the bravest, strongest, most loved man you could ever imagine,” Willa said.

“He was my best friend,” Cohen added.

By speaking to the crowd, Kelsie, Cohen and Willa provided more proof to the Snow family’s “courage, strength and grit” that Treliving and everyone else who knew Chris witnessed.

“That relentless fighting spirit,” Treliving said. “I know that’s what he taught me. In the face of such hardship, such sorrow, such pain, he always moved forward. He kept fighting.”