Courtesy Corey LeBlanc, The Casket
Dean Stock wears his love for his alma mater on his sleeve. Well, not quite his sleeve, but close enough.
"My brother can't get away from his X days because he has a big X tattoo on his back that we still bug him about," PJ Stock said, with a laugh, of his younger sibling's body art.
The Stock brothers skated for the StFX X-Men hockey team in the 1990s. Although close to two decades removed from lacing up their blades for the blue and white, they never forgot their time in Antigonish – the memories created and friendships made.
Those friendships – although never far from their hearts and minds – have come to the forefront over the past couple months as the Stock family received a body check more crunching than anything that could be doled out on the ice.
In December, Dean – then only 37 – was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease.
During the summer, Dean started to experience "moments of speech and swallowing issues," according to PJ, who spoke to the Casket Feb. 23.
"Like anybody else, he kept pushing them off, thinking that it was something else," PJ added.
One night – while having dinner with his parents – Dean experienced slurred speech.
"While having a couple drinks, which the Stock family loves to do," PJ quipped.
"At dinner, before [Dean] even gets a couple drinks in, my Dad starts making fun of him for slurring after only his second drink."
That good-natured family banter gave Dean and his wife, Paula – also a StFX graduate – the opportunity to tell his parents about the symptoms he had been experiencing.
"The first thing I did was call the doctor and it just kind of progressed from there – from one doctor to another; to a test, to a test, to a test and so on," PJ said of what happened after his parents informed him of his brother's illness.
Only a couple of months after that family dinner, Dean received the life-altering diagnosis.
"I think our family is lucky, where my brother is obviously the one at the forefront of this and the attitude that he has; we are all kind of a reflection of the way that he has taken it," PJ said, when asked about how they are dealing with the situation.
"If there is anyone that can deal with this, it is my brother. Anyone that knows him, or has been around him, know that he can make a joke about almost anything and is willing to sacrifice his own feelings for the benefit of making someone else feel better.
"That's how he has been through this process – making jokes," he added.
PJ noted that doesn't mean there haven't been "some terrible lows."
"And, our highs aren't as high as they used to be, but Dean has been the one that has really been the setter for how everyone is feeling," he said.
Team Stock
Now an analyst with Hockey Night in Canada, PJ told his younger brother's story during a recent Rogers Hometown Hockey telecast. His effort to raise awareness about ALS and the fight his brother faces went viral.
"I thought I owed it to my brother; I thought I owed it to my family and I thought I owed it to everyone because I have been given that platform," PJ said of his decision to tell such a personal story to a national audience.
"Sometimes it is used for some great things; sometimes it isn't. I thought it was my chance to kind of use it for something a little selfish."
PJ said the "hardest part" was everyone would now know about Dean's battle.
"As much as I am raising awareness and funds, it was going to be that everyone was going to know that this is what he is struggling with," he added.
Team Stock (www.teamstock.ca) has become a platform for telling Dean's story, along with raising awareness and funds in the fight against ALS.
The Xaverian family, including the StFX X-Men hockey team and athletic department, has been amongst the many that have joined Team Stock.
"We were happy to reach out and we want to do whatever we can to help Dean and his family," X-Men hockey head coach Brad Peddle said.
Peddle, who played with both brothers at StFX, said he has kept in touch with them over the years.
"We stayed connected," he said, noting he contacted PJ in December when he heard about Dean's diagnosis.
"Obviously, like everyone else, I was really bothered by it," Peddle added.
Over the Christmas holidays, he said he started thinking about how the X-Men and StFX Athletics could help Dean and his family.
"Everyone is so tight knit at StFX, even when you move on," Peddle said, noting the small town university is known for that Xaverian spirit and supporting each other.
As for the X-Men hockey family, he added it is "even tighter."
"It is only right that we stick together and help each other out," Peddle said.
He noted PJ and Dean were "very popular players" when they wore the blue and white.
"I thought if we could do anything, let's do it," Peddle said.
He started kicking around ideas with former teammates Kurt Walsh and Paul Dunphy, while keeping PJ in the loop regarding any plans.
"We wanted to make sure we were respecting the family's wishes," Peddle said, in terms of Dean's privacy.
Once he found out PJ would be telling Dean's story on Rogers Hometown Hockey, Peddle offered the opportunity for the X-Men program to "help keep it going," in terms of fundraising and awareness.
Starting with their final AUS regular season games, Team Stock decals have emblazoned the helmets of X-Men players. The blue and white logo includes #20 – the one Stock wore during his X-Men career.
Team Stock t-shirts, which are being worn by X-Men athletes, coaches and staff, are also being sold in support of the cause.
"It's at times like this when the StFX community pulls together to support one of our own," Leo MacPherson, StFX director of athletics and recreation, said.
"Dean definitely left his mark at StFX and he has been making us proud ever since. We want the Stocks to know the X family is solidly behind them and will do whatever we can to offer our support."
When the X-Men host the CIS University Cup national championship in Halifax this month (March 12-15), they plan to help generate even more awareness and support for Team Stock amongst StFX alumni, hockey supporters and fans from all over Canada.
"We thought it would be a great platform for creating awareness," Peddle said.
Lasting memories
PJ said the Xaverian family, including the likes of former teammates Peddle and Dave Stewart – now an X-Men assistant coach – have been reaching out, even before the Rogers Hometown Hockey story aired.
Although he only spent one season with the X-Men (1996-97), PJ said it was an unforgettable time.
"I refused – because of the brief experience that I had out there visiting the school and agreeing to go to StFX. I turned down the contract – never thinking that I would ever play a day of pro," he said of deciding to come to Antigonish, rather than ink a professional contract.
It took plenty of coaxing for PJ to turn pro one year later, when he signed a contract with the New York Rangers.
"I had enjoyed my time out there and the people so much, and I wanted to continue out there."
Part of his StFX legacy was convincing Dean and some of his friends to attend the Antigonish campus.
"There were just a bunch of great people and great memories made out there," he said, describing the "best people you could ever meet" are from the East Coast.
Indelible mark
In three campaigns, Dean tallied 28 goals and 36 assists in 78 AUS regular season games, while collecting the X-Men's most improved (1999-00) and most valuable (2000-01) player awards.
Dean also left an indelible mark off the ice.
"The average fan, who didn't know Dean personally, saw a fun-loving, boisterous player with a huge personality on the ice," Greg MacDonald, who was an X-Men assistant coach during Dean's time with the team, said in an email interview.
"He was always about team. He was the same off the ice; he certainly made a good impression on everyone he met."
MacDonald said Dean, in his three years at the university, not only became part of the StFX, but also the broader Antigonish community – "like many of the leaders of the hockey team did."
"I first met him when I was an assistant coach with the team, but that relationship grew to the point where he became a close friend to my entire family," MacDonald said.
He added Stock had a "great rapport" with his wife, Denise, along with their three daughters, who were ages eight to 13 at the time.
"X hockey fans remember Blake Robson and his double overtime goal in 2004 [which won the CIS championship]; well Dean could have been the original Robson because he had a wrap-around attempt against UQTR in the second overtime of the 2001 final, but was foiled in the attempt," MacDonald recalled.
During his decade with the X-Men program, the Antigonish school teacher said he "met many great players and many great people."
"But, Dean was one of the few who came to our house to say good-bye on his graduation day," MacDonald added, noting that meant a "great deal."
When they heard about Dean's diagnosis in December, he said his family were "shocked and saddened."
"Especially since we, like so many others, had taken part in the ALS ice bucket challenge last summer and had challenged the 2004 championship team to do so as well."
MacDonald noted many players from the title team accepted the challenge.
"Just as Dean had a never quit attitude on the ice, we are sure that this attitude will give him the strength he needs to fight this horrible disease," he said.
As the Stock family continues with that 'fight,' PJ delivered one final message.
"Just love everyone around you and enjoy every day; don't let any moments pass by where you think they are not a moment, because every moment counts," he said.
To stay up to date on StFX Athletics and X-Men hockey Team Stock initiatives, visit www.goxgo.ca/teamstock.