ORLANDO, FLA – In a quiet spot at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Salem, Massachusetts, a black headstone sits marking a grave. Etched in white on that stone is a depiction of the man who lies beneath it. A young man who at age 28 was taken much too soon.
When former minor league hockey player Paul Lynch Jr. suddenly and shockingly passed away a year ago, the thoughts and prayers of hockey fans in the cities where he played went out to his family and friends. Since that time, Paul Lynch Sr. and the rest of the Lynch family has battled the pain of losing a son and brother. Amongst the tears, the family wanted to find a way to create a legacy. They found a way to keep Paul Jr.’s memory alive thanks to the sport he played so well and loved even more.
In conjunction with the Knoxville Ice Bears Booster Club (KIBBC) and the Knoxville
Paul Lynch in happier times carrying the 2008 SPHL President%27s Cup (Photo courtesy of Jim Purvis)
“Paul touch a lot of people’s lives while he was with us,” KIBBC Vice President Jody Mullins said. “This scholarship program will allow him to continue to touch people’s lives in perpetuity. This is Paul’s legacy with us – to help someone else who loves the game as much as he did to continue to play the game.”
Mullins said that the KIBBC has set up a committee that has been working on criteria for the scholarship program in consultation with the Lynch family. They are also working closely with former Ice Bears player KJ Voorhees who is the Director of Hockey Operations at Cool Sports at the Icearium and the KAHA board to implement the application process and refine the parameters of the program.
To understand why a scholarship fund to help kids is the perfect way to memorialize a young man who played the game, one has to understand how the concept came to be. From an early age, Paul Lynch Jr. knew he wanted to play pro hockey. He also knew that being a pro would carry with it a certain responsibility to the fans.
Paul Lynch Sr., who is the Deputy Fire Chief in Peabody, Massachusetts, said that the idea of responsibility and giving back was something he and his son discussed many times.
“I always felt that if you were a professional that you would sign everybody’s autograph (request). I kind of instilled that into him,” Lynch Sr. said. “I think he did that all the time he was a professional
On February 19%2C 2011%2C a tree was planted outside the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Paul Lynch%27s memory (Photo courtesy of Jim Purvis)
Autographs were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the younger Lynch’s commitment to fans. Playing in the minor leagues – particularly the SPHL in Columbus and then Knoxville – one of the teams’ most popular fan sessions were post game skates. Regardless of how tough the game had been, Paul Jr. never missed an opportunity to be out there with the youngsters, sharing his love of the ice with them.
The fact that Paul Jr. was so at ease with kids was an extension of the way he was with his own family.
“Young kids really adapted to Paul and Paul adapted to them. As a matter of fact, the last day before he passed away the last three people he talked to were my grandkids’” Paul Sr. said. “It just goes to show you how close he was to the younger generation and how he appreciated them and really loved children.”
Paul Lynch Sr. openly admits that at times his relationship with his son was bumpy. Paul Jr. went through a rough period in his life that was keyed by the passing of his mother Peggy in 1999.
“It started after he lost his mother. He kind of went downhill after that but he got to the point where he bettered himself,” Paul Sr. said. “I know we had our ups and downs as a father and son – every father and son does – but I’ll tell you he was one extraordinary boy let me tell you. My son gave me something that I don’t think any other father could have and that was the experience of your son being a professional hockey player. He brought me so much happiness. For a father who never thought of his child making it to the pros, he gave me so much enjoyment in life.”
Through his tears, Paul Sr. recalled how he first realized his son had what it took to be a professional hockey player.
“I remember when it happened. I was at an ice skating rink and a guy came up to me and asked ‘are you Mr. Lynch?’. I said yes and he said he was so-and-so from the Florida Panthers and we’re thinking about drafting your kid. This was maybe two or three weeks after his mother passed away,” he said. “I’ll never forget I walked out of the ice skating rink and looked back at the rink and literally pinched myself (as if) to say what’s happening here. I couldn’t understand what was happening. It was amazing. The trip he brought me on was just any father’s dream. It makes Disney World look like nothing, believe me.”
The Panthers never did draft Paul Jr. but in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected him in the fifth round (138th overall). He never played a game in the NHL, choosing to attend the University of Maine for two years and later UMass-Amherst. He turned pro during the 2004-2005 season and by the time it ended during the 2009-2010 season, he had played in six minor league cities across two levels and had a championship ring from the Ice Bears to his credit.
In every city, Paul Lynch Jr. made friends because every fan he came across meant something to him. He cared about the fans and
Along with the tree%2C a memorial stone was placed outside the Knoxville Civic Coliseum in Paul Lynch%27s memory (Photo courtesy of Jim Purvis)
“You know he never elaborated on that (fans). I never knew it until I went down there last year when they planted the tree and the stone out in front of the rink. Walking into the rink, I had one of his game shirts on,” he said. “I must have had at least 20-25 people come up to me and shake my hand (and tell me) how he touched their lives. I never knew this. It went all the way from the young kids right up to the adults.
“As a matter of fact, one of the adults had purchased his game shirt and I didn’t know this. All of a sudden the husband of the woman comes down and asks if I am Mr. Lynch and I said sure. He said he was running a stand up here – I think it was part of the booster club – and they brought me up to the stand. When they did they said they had something for me. It was that game shirt. I just was floored. It was just unbelievable. People didn’t have to do that. They could have hoarded it or whatever. It was extraordinary how open they were to me all the way around.”
Following Paul Jr.’s death, his father sought the best way to keep his son’s love of the game alive. He decided that a scholarship to help youth hockey players continue to play was the best way to accomplish that goal. He discussed it with the KIBBC people – in particular Mullins – and has provided $2,000 of his own money as the seed for the program.
“It was purely his idea,” Mullins said about Paul Sr.’s idea for the scholarship.
As the first anniversary of his son’s passing arrives, Paul Lynch Sr. said that he hopes that the scholarships can make a difference in the lives of youth hockey players by keeping them on the ice – the place that Paul Jr. provided so many happy memories for him. He hopes that when people hear the name Paul Lynch Jr., they will think about the lessons one young man taught us about life and family.
“I think the one thing he probably left was if you put your mind to it, you can do it and he did. Don’t let anything ever put you down. I know the death of his mother back in 1999 was very traumatic for him. After that, it was just unbelievable. It took something like that to show what he could do,” Paul Sr. said. “He was just an ordinary boy. He skated like everybody else. He played like everybody else. He was just an ordinary boy who did his thing and made his dad very proud of what he did until the day he died.”
Editor’s Note: The Knoxville Ice Bears Booster Club has set up a fund from which the scholarships will be drawn. If you would like to make a donation to help with future scholarships, checks can be made out to “The Paul Lynch Jr. Memorial Fund” and be mailed to the following address: Paul Lynch Jr. Memorial Fund, c/o Knoxville Ice Bears Booster Club, P.O. Box 396, Knoxville, TN, 37901.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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