Throughout this week in the lead-up to the men's hockey team's Movember game on Friday (click here for tickets), Bison Sports is sharing stories on men's health, beginning with forward Hayden Ostir.

Men's hockey forward Hayden Ostir will never forget the impact that the late Declan Erickson had on his life. The pair were best friends growing up. They did everything together, as did their families. 
 
"His parents are like parents to me as well. We're very close family friends, spending every summer together, every winter. We played on the same hockey teams growing up. Once I started playing higher levels, his parents would still come over twice a week," he recalls. 
 
"He was a bike ride away. We would do everything together. He was close with my brother who's two years older, and then I have a cousin who's my age. They both would always be hanging out with us, they'd come to our family dinners."
 
Declan was an athlete that played many different sports growing up.  He tried almost everything from gymnastics and badminton to wrestling and rugby, staying involved in hockey, baseball and volleyball throughout his high school years. 
 
His Red Sox baseball team and his Crusaders volleyball teams made it to the provincial championships. He also played club volleyball with the Junior Bisons and really enjoyed his time playing high school hockey with the St. Paul's Crusaders.
 
"He was always someone you could text to come over, have a laugh with, joke around. I could do anything with him. He was an active kid, we would go play any sport and there was always a competition, so I loved that," added Ostir. 
 
"The one thing we always joked about was how competitive he was. We'd all get a video game and he'd be the first one to beat it, or we'd play mini sticks and he'd have to win, or we'd be working out together and he had to bench press the most. That was kind of him."
 
Declan also took business courses at the University of Manitoba in the Faculty of Agricuture.  He worked at Jones and Company where he started learning all about wine and met and worked with many great people.
 
He also worked at École Lacerte subbing as an educational assistant in the kindergarten to grade eight  classrooms.  He loved the time he spent with the students and working alongside his sister and his mom.
 
"He was always such a happy kid. Everyone always said he had a smile on his face whenever he was around," noted Ostir. 
 
"He made me a lot better in my life, seeing how hard he worked at things. I'm like, I'm playing high-level hockey and this guy's working harder than me for some stuff. I have to start doing more."


 
Declan was always a great speller and could write essays with ease. He had a way with words and with language. He had plans to travel the world, learn new languages and experience some new adventures.

'Don't be afraid to talk to somebody'
Tragically, on October 19, 2022, just before his 23rd birthday, Declan passed away. A difficult relationship in his personal life had caused stress, eventually leading to hospitalization. 
 
Ostir recalls there being a sixth-month span where Declan was struggling, but then he was okay. His passing was a shock. Ostir was on the road with the Bisons at the time. 
 
"We were texting a bit. Obviously I couldn't really tell if something was up. Then, very fast he was in the hospital. We were trying to talk to him and his parents were coming over and talking to us," he says. 
 
"At the start I didn't really want to talk to anybody. I remember crying when I found out. All the boys were nice, but at some point you kind of just want to be alone. It didn't click for a while for me because I was so busy."
 
When Ostir got home, it was difficult to face, and process the reality of what had occurred. 
 
"I was so busy at the moment that I didn't really take the time to just sit there and feel it. The first couple times his parents came over after I got back from Trinity, I couldn't stay downstairs. I just went straight to my room. I couldn't face it," he expressed.
 
"That was the toughest thing was seeing his parents, who are the nicest people, and his sister, who is also one of the nicest people ever."
 
After encouragement from his coach, Ostir sought out the services of the Bisons' sports psychology team. He spoke with sports psych consultant Lindsay Berard, who helped him navigate his emotions. 
 
"I talked to Lindsay and she helped out with a lot of things going on in my life. I think that's one thing that a lot of people don't want to do, is go talk to a professional about it. I think it helped out a lot in my life in general, talking to someone about everything going on in my life. It really did open my eyes to a lot of things," he says. 
 
"I think it was hard because I still hadn't processed it, and then I had to see his family as well. I think talking about it made me more comfortable around it. It definitely did take a bit to face those emotions."
 
Ostir is still extremely close with Declan's family. His memory lives on through the countless people whose life he impacted. 
 
It's been just over a year since Declan's passing. Ostir speaks passionately and with courage about his close friend. And while he knows it's hard, he also understands the importance of talking about the past. His message to others who may be struggling with similar adversity is simple and powerful. 
 
"Don't be afraid to talk to somebody. I know it's tough to get it out at the start. I struggled with it. I'm sure a lot of people do. It does help out in the end. I'm sure family and friends would much rather you talk to somebody than the latter."
 
The men's hockey team is raising money for men's health as part of movember. Click here to donate.