Banner raised, tournament held in Ray Emery’s memory

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By Kaitlyn Clark

The Haldimand Press

CAYUGA—Three years ago local residents realized something was missing at the Cayuga Memorial Arena – there was nothing in honour of Ray Emery, a local boy who had brought the Stanley Cup home to that very arena in 2013.

Lacey Grandin thought it would be fitting to raise a banner in the arena for Ray. She reached out to another Cayuga resident turned NHL Star – Marty McSorley, who has a room named after him at the arena – to get the ball rolling. The project was delayed as things were sorted out with Haldimand County, and then tragically Ray passed away on July 15, 2018 in a drowning accident.

“We put a hold on things when he died to give the family time to grieve,” said Grandin.

Wanting to do more to honour Ray’s memory, McSorely suggested they begin a golf tournament that would support the Ray Emery Fund, which will go towards supporting children, such as in minor sports. All of this work came to fruition last weekend as the golf tournament hosted 120 golfers and 170 diners on Friday, September 20, 2019, and Ray’s banner was finally raised the following day at the Cayuga Memorial Arena.

“Nothing had been done for Ray yet, so they all came home to celebrate him,” said Grandin of the turnout.

Volunteer Erin Mehlenbacher noted, “This is a small town. When it comes to small communities like this, everybody backs each other.”

Many of Ray’s family members were in attendance to remember him as well.

“It’s something positive. We’ve had a lot of sadness,” said Ray’s mom, Sharlene. She added that the golf tournament was a good choice, as golf was a passion of Ray’s and with his competitive edge, he would have loved to be there himself. “As a family and as a community it’s a blessing to be able to experience this together…. We feel honoured. We raised our kids in Cayuga and we’re very thankful they’re doing the banner raising in memory of Ray. Him bringing the Stanley Cup there was such a good memory for us as a family. It was like wow, you have your dreams as a kid and Ray achieved his.”

Ray’s brother, Andrew, added, “I think he would think this was pretty awesome…. It’s nice that they do this without anyone asking.”

McSorely said, “The thought was ‘how can we leave a good footprint for a lasting memory of a really good kid and athlete’.”

“This year (the fund) will pay for two kids to be fully equipped with hockey equipment,” said Grandin. The two children are a 14-year-old girl and her 11-year-old brother; both of them play out of Caledonia.

The winning golf team was Brian and Kevin Matthews, Brian Morris, and Joey Baird, shooting a 49 over 18 holes, which is 16 under par.

McSorely added that he believes this is the first of “many events that we’re hoping to do to keep Ray’s memory alive by doing good.”

Along with Grandin and McSorely, the Ray Emery Memorial Planning Committee consisted of Joey Baird, Josh Camblin, Dave Hunsinger, Brian Bedini, Kevin Jenkins, Corey Spaceman, Chris Mehlenbacher, Rob Shirton, and John Metcalfe.

Ray, born in 1982, was drafted 99th overall in 2001 by the Ottawa Senators. He led them to the finals in 2007 and won the Stanley Cup in 2013 with the Chicago Blackhawks. He received a number of awards throughout his career, retiring in 2016. On reaching out to potential sponsors and attendees, such as the teams and players Ray played with, McSorley said, “The response we’ve gotten when I mention Ray’s name, they light up and say, ‘Sure, I’d love to’. It resonates.”

Rick Mowat, who coached Ray in his draft year at age 16 on the Junior C Terriers, now Mudcats, recalled: “Ray was a lean machine. He could skate better than a lot of forwards, and he could shoot, but he was a goalie. He was the quiet type, but he got it done.”

Mowat added he was thrilled to follow Ray’s career and achievements: “When he ended up winning the Stanley Cup, that was larger than life. It was a sad thing the way he went, but for sure we will remember him.”

McSorely spoke to the crowd that attended the golf tournament: “We’re extremely proud of who (Ray) was as a person and what he meant to our community. He now continues to have the ability to have an impact … with what we can generate and give back in his name. Today is really about what Ray would want…. He was a great competitor, a great player, and a champion. So today we’re championing his cause.”