Family First and 60 Minutes
For Adirondack Frostbite coach Marc Potvin, his motto may hold the key to both his life and the tragedy that ended it.
Paul POST
Minor League News
Glens Falls, New York - The news that Adirondack Frostbite coach Marc Potvin died on January 13, 2006, just sixteen days shy of his 39th birthday, both shocked and united people throughout hockey in a shared grief for someone whose life touched thousands as a fierce competitor and tirelessly dedicated coach.
Three weeks later, the news on Thursday, February 9, 2006 that Potvin had committed suicide stunned local hockey fans and those with whom he had worked for years alike.
Speculation is that depression over his pending divorce, perhaps some taking stock on the fortnight before his birthday, and a high blood alcohol content level on the night in question might have been contributing factors, but truly, no one can say for certain.
What is certain is that the investigation concluded by the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety determined that Marc Potvin, whose blood alcohol levels have been reported by other media outlets to be .15, well above the legal limit for the operation of a motor vehicle, hanged himself with a belt on a shower curtain rod in a Kalamazoo, Michigan hotel room. The news broke in a story on the website of the local paper, the Post-Star of Glens Falls.
Hotel employees found Potvin when they were asked to check his room after he failed to show up for a morning practice.
Those who worked closest to him tried to recall any warning signs that could have indicated that Marc suffered from severe depression.
"I've known him for a long time, and there was no sign, no history of anything like that," Frosbite co-owner and ESPN Hockey Analyst Barry Melrose told the Times-Union in a mid-February story on the cause of Potvin’s death. Melrose went on to say that the divorce was amicable, and that Marc had not shown signs of depression or stress about it.
There are few real answers to the whys of what happened. Friends and fans alike instead try to focus on the positives of a life filled with achievement and love for family, friends, and hockey.
A Tribute to a Life of Achievement
On the night of Potvin’s memorial three weeks earlier, it was the majesty of his life that was being celebrated. The most poignant tribute was a 10-minute video showing Potvin at different stages of life as a player, coach, father and friend.
During the tribute, Frostbite captain Hugo Belanger put his arm around friend and former teammate Frank Littlejohn of the Missouri River Otters.
“This is what hockey is all about,” said Potvin’s father, Richard. “Hockey is a brotherhood. Marc would have been so proud.”
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