Friends, teammates come together to honor Kivlenieks at Memorial Service

Matiss Kivlenieks' family, friends, and teammates all gathered to celebrate his life at a private memorial service in Columbus. Of course, there was a lot of sadness associated with the event, but all of the people there also remembered all of the good times they had.

"He'd be mad," Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace said of the ceremony. "He wouldn't want this. If you guys didn't know Kivi, he wouldn't want this. He'd want everyone to have a beer and go on their way."

In order to make this more fitting, Legace, Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins, Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen, and former teammate Nathan Gerbe all told stories filled with laughter in order to remember Kivlenieks attitude before his morning coffee, his perfectionism, and his love for playing pranks on people he loved.

"He got to become one of my family," Legace said. "You were my son and you were a great friend to everybody here."

"He wasn't my friend," Merzlikins said. "Matiss was my little brother."

Kivlenieks apparently even helped Merzlikins and his wife Aleksandra prepare for the birth of their first child mightily, including helping build the baby's first crib.

"He was helping my wife more than I am doing," Merzlikins said. "He was doing everything. He was doing dishes, he was cleaning the house. Who does that?"

Matiss Kivlenieks will continue to be missed heavily, but his legacy continues to live on.

nhl.com

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