An Unusual Tribute At A Recent Vancouver Canucks Game

Diehard hockey fans traditionally have been known to toss sea creatures onto the ice, with the most notable example being the famous octopi of Detroit. In recent months, Vancouver Canucks followers may have set the bar a bit higher by conceiving a brand new tradition.

The latest example of this took place when the Canucks hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday. With about four minutes remaining in the third period, while the players were awaiting a faceoff on one end of the ice, a five-pound salmon was tossed onto the other end of the Rogers Arena rink.

Prior to the game, the fish throwers met at the nearby Fairmont Hotel, carefully packing the perfumed-bathed creature into vacuum wrap, then strapping it against the stomach of a Vancouver fan named Joey Smith. Smith subsequently covered himself with his well-worn Canucks jersey. 

The group passed through arena security and then hid the fish under their seats. 

Smith went through all this trouble to honor Garrett Paquette, a friend who had tragically perished in an ATV accident last November. Garrett's father Roger, who was on hand for the event, is credited with inventing the salmon throwing tradition, during last season's playoff series against the Calgary Flames.

Roger Paquette was originally inspired to throw a BC (British Columbia) salmon onto the ice because he believed it to be a symbol of strength and speed. 

Saturday, he was clearly filled with a far different feeling of purpose.

Take a look at the sad, yet triumphant video below.