Matthew Welsh rolled up his sleeve for the first time during the past year and encourages others to do the same.
“The feeling of giving blood and … potentially saving somebody’s life is one like no other,” the 20-year-old Halifax native said Wednesday. “You really feel like you have made a difference walking out of the blood clinic after donating.”
The goalie with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Charlottetown Islanders was presented the Dayna Brons Honorary Award by Canadian Blood Services and Hockey Gives Blood Wednesday in Halifax.
Peter MacDonald, director of donor relations in Atlantic Canada and Ontario, said he read a story in The Chronicle Herald Wednesday morning regarding Welsh’s connection with nine-year-old Jack Rodgerson of York.
“I got a sense from that … and knowing your involvement with us and Hockey Gives Blood … that you have a really strong sense of community,” he said.
Keeping with social distancing, MacDonald used a Reebok goalie stick to pass the award in a bag to Welsh.
“That was a first for me,” said Welsh, who has received numerous awards for his work on the ice, in the classroom and in the community during his five-year career in Charlottetown.
“Reading up on Dayna and her story, integrity and character are two traits she really portrayed. To win this award in her honour it makes me really proud.”
Jason MacLean, the Islanders’ director of sales and marketing, received information about the ambassador program and immediately thought of Welsh because of his willingness and enjoyment to get involved in the community. He thought, given Welsh’s busy hockey schedule and course load at UPEI, he might be able to get involved at the entry level.
“Matt Welsh being Matt Welsh, took it and looked at it and said, ‘If I am going to do this, I’m doing this at the pro level’,” MacLean said. “He took the ball and ran with it on his own and turned it into what it became.”
Welsh became the first player ambassador for the program in Atlantic Canada in November, made two donations of blood himself and got some of his teammates to donate as well. He promoted a friendly blood donation challenge between the Islanders, Moncton Wildcats and Saint John Sea Dogs in January and visited the Charlottetown donation centre to hand out game tickets to donors. He promoted blood donation online, too, and encouraged other Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players to take part.
“It was a way to give back more to the community,” Welsh said. “Being a CHL player, we have the privilege of having pull in the community and being able to make a difference.”
The award recognizes an individual from Canada’s hockey community who exhibits outstanding dedication towards patients who rely on blood and stem cell products.
Brons was the athletic therapist for the Humboldt Broncos and was on the bus during the fatal collision on April 6, 2018. Brons, 24, suffered significant injuries but continued to fight for five more days before dying on April 11.
She was also a blood donor.
“Reading up on Dayna and her story, integrity and character are two traits she really portrayed,” Welsh said. “To win this award in her honour it makes me really proud.”
MacLean said while Welsh’s playing days for the Islanders may be over, many in the community will continue to watch the young man in the next chapters of his life.
“I think the story of Matt Welsh is far from complete. He’s a young man who’s going to do great things.”
