Matiss Kivlenieks Died A Hero

Matiss Kivlenieks Died A Hero

Matiss Kivlenieks, the young Latvian goalie was made famous in Columbus for going into Madison Square Garden and beating the New York Rangers in his NHL debut in 2020. One of only six Latvian goalies to ever play in the NHL, the CBJ had two of them. He and fellow countryman Elvis Merzlikins both made their NHL debut that season. The future in the net for Columbus was clearly going to be controlled by the young Latvians. Kivi, as fans called him, went on to spend most of 2020 playing for Cleveland of the AHL, Posting a 9-8-3 record.

The 2020-21 season in Cleveland was stacked with goalie prospects that the CBJ had hoped one day would play in the NHL. Alongside Kivlenieks were Daniil Tarasov and Veini Vehvilainen, two goalies who both were considered the future in net for the Blue Jackets. During that season Kivlenieks only played in eight games for Cleveland going 6-2 with a GAA of 2.25 and a save % of .929, he played well in limited action. He also started the last two games of the season for the CBJ, going 1-1. Kivlenieks was most likely going to be backing up Merzlikins the following season in Columbus.

And then tragedy struck.

Most people woke on July 5th expecting it to be a normal day after a holiday, instead what CBJ fans got was a shock. As notifications started popping up on people’s phones, it was starting to become reality, Matiss Kivlenieks, the young Latvian goalie, had passed away. Now fans were left to wonder how.

Information slowly started to trickle out about what happened. All we knew was that he and some teammates were at goalie coach Manny Legace’s house to celebrate Legace’s daughter getting married and also to take in the Fourth of July festivities, which included a fireworks display in the backyard of Legace’s home. After spending the last eight years In the United States, this would be Kivlenieks first time experiencing the Fourth of July.

Later in the afternoon, Columbus fans took to social media seeking to organize some sort of memorial. Many fans lobbied the local hockey bar, RBar, just outside of Nationwide Arena, to open, as a place of comfort to come and mourn his passing. RBar obliged. They opened, and fans poured into the place that was usually full of excitement for CBJ games. Fans also went to the Front Street entrance of Nationwide Arena and built a memorial. Fans brought flowers, made signs, and left sticks, and pucks. It was beautiful to see all the people come out, even some fans of other teams were coming out and leaving things. Meanwhile, inside RBar, the somber mood continued, but now the media showed up, and people shared their thoughts on live TV, it was truly a horrible day.

After an investigation, it was found that this terrible accident was due to a firework tube tipping over while firing, and then hitting Kivlenieks in the chest. At the memorial service to honor him, Elvis Merzlikins revealed that Kivlenieks died protecting others, including Merzlikins, his wife, and his unborn son. He died a hero. The Merzlikins family chose to honor their friend by naming their son after Matiss.

That same day, Kivi was honored with a moment of silence before game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The following season, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Kivlenieks' good friend, announced he was changing his jersey number from 13 to 80 to honor his friend. After being traded to the LA Kings last week, he got to keep #80.

Matiss Kivlenieks was honored by the CBJ on October 14^th, 2021, during the home opener. A banner was raised which remained for the rest of the season. That night, Elvis Merzlikins wore #80 to honor his friend and fellow countryman. A day later, his former team, The Cleveland Monsters also honored him, with his family in attendance. His junior team, the Sioux City Musketeers, retired his #35 jersey a week later on October 22^nd. 

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Inside Nationwide Arena there is also a glass case with Kivlenieks jersey, which, on any given night sees lots of fans taking pictures of it. They decided to take down the banner after the season, but fans really want to see that banner hanging permanently.

Matiss Kivlenieks will always be remembered for being the baby-face Latvian goalie who went into Madison Square Garden and shut down the Rangers. But he will also be known as the fun-loving kid who took nothing for granted and seemed to love life.

Sometimes we forget that athletes are real people, instead, looking at them as heroes. But most people will tell you that they're not. In this case, however, Matiss Kivlenieks is in fact a hero. And a hero we will never forget.

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