On November 15th 2025, the Western Mustangs men’s
program retired jersey #9 and raised a banner to the rafters of Thompson Arena honouring
Ryan Held. Ryan played minor hockey in
Lambeth, played Jr. B in St. Thomas, played in the OHL with the Kitchener
Rangers and the London Knights and was drafted by the New Jersey Devils. Ryan’s most memorable time playing hockey was
when he attended Western University, playing from 2001 to 2005 and winning a
national championship in 2002.
In August 2024, Ryan passed away suddenly and unexpectedly
leaving behind his wife Laura, daughter Payton and son Ethan. In May 2025 Ethan was named to the final
roster of the U12 London Junior Mustangs Purple team – giving him the
opportunity to wear the Mustangs logo as his dad did.
On November 15th, Ethan and his family were
supported by his team as they honoured his dad.
It was an emotional evening but a night the team wanted to be a part of.
Just three weeks later, on December 6th, Ethan
and his team would again attend Thompson Arena for Junior Mustang Day where the
Purple team and the Grey team would compete for the second time this
season.
In the third period of a hard-fought game, Ethan would
redirect a shot from the point into the net for his team’s 4th goal
of the game. After scoring the goal,
Ethan excitedly skated down the ice pointing up to his dad’s banner. While some may not have noticed or recognized
the significance of this moment, it was a gesture that his friends, family and
teammates will never forget.
Following the game, we took a team photo, and photos of
Ethan under his dad’s banner. Ethan
would also be recognized as the Player of the Game and receive the London
Junior Mustangs official game puck to commemorate this amazing moment.
Hockey is more than wins and losses and this was a moment that
many of us will remember forever.
