Adam Kelly Memorial Award

The legacy of Adam Kelly, who suddenly passed in 2007 will now be celebrated each year by the New Waterford Minor Hockey Association. The Adam Kelly Memorial Award will be handed out to a deserving player that participates in the game of hockey who is dedicated, hard working and a true sportsman each and every time he/she wears the Sharks jersey.

Adam started playing hockey as a preschooler on his backyard rink and always loved playing in net.  He would even insist on singing O Canada before every game in the backyard.  He began playing in goal in the Tots Division. 

Adam played his entire minor hockey career in the New Waterford Minor Hockey Association and played on the rep teams once he reached the Atom division and above. Adam was a student of the goalie position and he excelled at a high level that his fellow players could rely on game in and game out. In 2004, Adam proved that all of his hard work and dedication had paid off as he led his New Waterford Midget AAA Sharks to a Provincial Championship by winning the Provincial MVP Goaltender Award, all in his home arena in front of hundreds of fans.
He won numerous sport awards, medals, trophies and certificates over the years with the majority of those for hockey.  He also won an MVP award in the provincial tournament in Bedford in 2000. 

Adam was a graduate of Breton Education Centre, Class of 2004 and in 2005, Cape Breton University, with a certificate in Motor Vehicle Body Repair.  His favorite cars were Hondas.

Adam played soccer as well as hockey.  He was a member of the BEC Jr. B soccer championship team.  He participated in track and field from elementary school right into high school, winning distance and long jump competitions.  He also played basketball in his elementary school years.  His passion, though, was hockey. 

He was very creative and his hobbies included drawing and working on cars.  He also collected hockey cards, in particular, goaltender cards.  He once sent a laminated newspaper clipping to John Vanbiesbrouck of the Florida Panthers with a note telling him how much he admired his talent, and received it back autographed, along with a letter of thanks. 

Adam also won several drawing/art contests, including a Canada-wide Crayola contest where he placed second overall in a competition that also included adults.  He was only a little kid then, maybe 8 or 9.  His drawing was of himself in goal – his first shutout or something.  His winnings included an authentic autographed Curtis Joseph jersey.  He was disappointed he didn’t win first prize which was a trip to Walt Disney World.  His dream eventually came true as he got to go to Florida and spent two weeks at Disney with his family.

He loved animals and was always taking in strays in addition to our family pets.  He also had a way with kids – they were just drawn to him.  One summer, through the Family Resource Centre, he gave art and drawing lessons to local children.  He loved being able to share his talent.  He also painted the goaltender sign that hung over a door at the back of the NW rink.  He painted the huge metal signs that now hang on the Salvation Army building on Inglis Street in Sydney.  He helped paint a mural at a local daycare and was commissioned to paint a harness racing mural for a local organization. 

   
He liked a lot of the older music as well as the newer stuff.  He liked Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, Queen, Def Leppard and other older music. He and his friends enjoyed going out to the cove near the New Victoria lighthouse to hang out.  His friends say he could do a wicked Borat impersonation, as well as some cartoon characters. He loved Father Ted, That 70s Show and The Office television series, as well as listening to his parent’s old cassettes of General John Cabot Trail.  He loved his family’s annual trips to PEI to visit family there.  (Adam’s aunt had a tree planted in his memory at the Children’s Memorial Park on his second favorite Island.)

Words his family (his proud mom Shirley, his proud father Keith and his proud sister Megan) would use to describe Adam:  talented, compassionate, driven, sentimental, perfectionist, kind and generous, athletic, loving, homebody, someone who loved life and lived life to the fullest. Adam’s parents and his former fellow players and coaches are proud of the legacy that he has left behind and would like to congratulate the winner of this award each and every year!