The Brendon Oreto Foundation held its annual hockey school at the Willie O’ree Arena Fredericton from Sept. 25 to 30.
In early 1999, the Fredericton Youth Hockey Association renamed the program in honor and memory of Brendon Oreto, a former AAA hockey player who excelled at the game before he passed away in a car accident on his way back for Christmas back in 1998.
Tony Oreto, Brendon’s father, said he found out that they were going to rename the foundation four weeks after Brendon passed away and at the moment, he did not understand what that meant.
“It was just too much for me to even contemplate,” said Oreto. “But it took a number of them, it was the coaches, it was the managers at the time that all got involved, had these meetings, put the school together.”
Oreto said that Brendon was a sensitive kid who always made room for everyone without prejudice. At his funeral, he realized the impact his son had on people.
“There were 35 People from the United States that came for his funeral and this is coming from California … the headmaster came, the hockey coach and the [admission registrar] came, I was… I was shocked.”
When it came to hockey, Oreto did not want to push his son to be passionate about the sport.
“I’ve never seen him angry… he was really mad because he wasn’t playing hockey. He had it in him here. I remember my brother sent him a pair of hockey skates when he was four and he used to wear them around the house.”
He said his son would make balls out of tape and play with it and his stick in his room, eventually wearing a hole in his wall.
Oreto said that being part of a team and being able to play hockey has always been a big part of his life, but the passion that comes with it is what motivates him to help the community.
“When I played hockey as a kid in Toronto, I didn’t come from any means. My mother used to get our hockey equipment from rummage sales,” said Oreto.
“When I think about this whole thing, I’m not thinking about Brendon all the time, I’m thinking about how I felt as a little kid being able to play hockey… and I think about what it did for me, and if we could just help one little kid, get that feeling.”
The foundation gives both financial assistance and equipment to children in need, with the hockey school happening once a year in September.
During the summer of 1998, Brendon got Lyme disease after being bitten by a bug in Cape Cod.
“He couldn’t play for the Tommies because he was that sick,” his father said. “He was going to start in January and died in December.”
Oreto shared an essay that Brendon wrote, with the subject being : “If you had one gift to give, what would it be?”
In 1996, Brendon wrote: “If I had one gift to give I would give the gift of love and human kindness. I would give this gift to a person who was less fortunate than I, someone who has not received attention and care throughout their life. […] Love, unlike a material gift, does not wear out or lose its style.”
