Season Of Loss, A Lifetime Of Forgiveness , livre ebook

A SEASON OF LOSS A LIFETIME OF FORGIVENESS
A SEASON OF LOSS A LIFETIME OF FORGIVENESS
THE DAN SNYDER AND DANY HEATLEY STORY
JOHN MANASSO
ECW PRESS
Copyright John Manasso, 2005
Published by ECW Press
2120 Queen Street East, Suite 200 , Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4E 1E2
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise - without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and ECW Press.
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION
Manasso, John
A season of loss, a lifetime of foregiveness : the Dan Snyder and Dany Heatley story / John Manasso.
ISBN 1-55022-702-5
1 . Snyder, Dan, 1978-2003 -Death and burial. 2 . Heatley, Dany. 3 . Hockey players- Canada-Biography. 4 . Traffic accident victims - Biography. I . Title.
GV848.5.A1M35 2005 796.962 092271 C2005-904375-X
Copy editor: Kevin Connolly Cover and Text Design: Tania Craan Production: Mary Bowness Cover Photo: Courtesy of the Atlanta Thrashers Printing: Friesens
This book is set in Minion and Trajan
Heaven Is a Better Place Today, written by: Baker, Downie, Fay, Langlois, Sinclair Used by Permission of Little Smoke / peermusic Canada, Inc.
5 4 3 2
DISTRIBUTION
CANADA : Jaguar Book Group, 100 Armstrong Ave., Georgetown, ON L7G 5S4 UNITED STATES : Independent Publishers Group, 814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL , U.S.A. 60610
PRINTED AND BOUND IN CANADA
To Joey and Sam
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the cooperation of Graham, LuAnn, Jake and Erika Snyder. I would like to thank them for allowing me into their home, into their most intimate memories and for the many hours spent on the phone, which were at times tearful, at times difficult and at others filled with laughter. Some of the materials they supplied - Graham sifted through Erika s countless videos of the Gilmore Girls to find tapes that related to Dan from before and after his death - were invaluable. The significance those tapes held was not lost on me as I brought them to Atlanta from Elmira and it was no small weight lifted from my shoulders when I had safely placed them back in Graham s hands. Another invaluable contribution to this book came in sorting through the thousands of letters of support and condolence the Snyders received - words which, in themselves could fill their own book. These letters once again caused them to relive difficult times. I would also like to thank them for giving their blessing to those who were unsure whether to talk to me when I first came calling. The names, phone numbers, addresses and e-mail addresses they supplied were invaluable.
I would like to thank ECW Press publisher Jack David for sharing the same vision as I had for this book, which was one more about a family s journey through grief and forgiveness than it was one about the sport of hockey. My editor Michael Holmes critiques made for greater accuracy and better writing. I also want to thank the rest of the staff at ECW for their role in getting this to press and the work they did to improve the overall product and its salability. And special thanks to Greg Dinkin, who put me in touch with ECW , and made this project possible.
I also would like to thank my editors at the Journal-Constitution for giving me permission to pursue this side project, especially Don Boykin and Ronnie Ramos. Particular thanks goes to Chris Vivlamore, who, during the NHL lockout, acceded to my requests to cover events in Detroit and Toronto that made it possible to stay a few extra days in Elmira so I could do research and conduct interviews. I also would like to thank Journal-Constitution columnist Jeff Schultz, who somehow covered the Thrashers beat through the misery of the team s first three expansion seasons and whose sensitivity and insight in writing about Dany Heatley s car accident, and later Dan Snyder s funeral, paved the way for my future articles and, ultimately, this book.
I would like to thank everyone who was interviewed, or who helped to put me in touch with someone for an interview, for either my newspaper articles, some of which were included in the book, or the book itself: Ruth Anne Laverty, Larry Devitt, Linda Bell, Gerlinde Petz, Dean Peachey, Mark Yantzi, Joseph Snyder, Deb Good, William Cassino, Dan Marr, Don Waddell, Bob Hartley, Rob Koch, Tom Hughes, the Thrashers organization, Bruce Levenson, Rutherford Seydel, Mark Johnson, Ryan Christie, Joey Guilmet, Garnet Exelby, J.P. Vigier, Ben Simon, Slava Kozlov, Brad Tapper, Jarrod Skalde, Kevin Cheveldayoff, Tom Langley, Don Samuel, Manny Arora, Mark Tate, the Fulton County District Attorney s office, Bill Rankin, Beth Warren, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Gord Downie, The Tragically Hip, Don Reynolds, Todd Reynolds, Lisa Rotondi, Xenia Rybak and Mark Holland. Condolences go to the families of court reporter Julie Brandau and Judge Rowland Barnes. About three weeks before their deaths, I met Julie in Judge Barnes chambers to purchase a copy of the transcript from Dany Heatley s February 4 hearing. I asked if she thought I might be able to interview the judge for my book and, much to my surprise, after a few minutes she returned and pointed me down a hallway where Judge Barnes met me. He did not think it was appropriate, which I understood, and I appreciated that a person in his position and of his standing took the time to meet with me in person. I would also like to thank Emory University s library, theological library and law library and those at the Fulton County Courthouse who helped me to sort through the Heatley case file and make photocopies. (Apologies to anyone I might have omitted.)
I would like to thank people I consulted with about writing a book and getting it published, including Scott Burnside, Derrick Goold and Dave Bidini. I would like to thank friend and mentor Neil Greenberger for reading several chapters and offering criticism, comments and support. I would like to thank my friends for their support, encouragement and enthusiasm, including Carlos Frias, Sean Egan, Brendan Kirby, Dave Richards and Mike Sandler. And, of course, Mom and Dad, Lauren and Aly, thanks for everything. Thanks also go to the many musicians whose work put me in the right frame of mind to write, especially Buffalo Tom and The Lemonheads.
One note: this book is primarily about Dan Snyder. Dan s life, the events leading to his death and his family s ordeal will forever be inextricably tied to Dany Heatley, who was not interviewed. Because this book was written during the NHL lockout, I was unable to interview Heatley as a member of the Thrashers; regardless, his willingness to talk about anything related to the accident is extremely limited. I made several requests, through Heatley s agent, Stacey McAlpine, for interviews with Heatley, and I spoke to Murray Heatley directly about the possibility of being interviewed for this book. None of those offers were accepted.
Finally - but perhaps most important of all - I would like to thank my wife, Christie, for putting up with me during the hectic months of writing. I know during many late nights she wanted me to turn off the light so she could go to sleep, but suffered silently. Thank you for putting up with my stress during those days and nights when I counted the words I had written and calculated the number of days I had left before my deadline, which always sent me into a frenzy. Sorry for the times when I projected that stress onto you. Thank you for listening to me, taking care of Joey and Sam when I could not, thank you for your judgment, for taking time to read my drafts, your ever constructive criticism and your unending support. With love, you are my most trusted editor.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 THE CRASH
CHAPTER 2 THE COUNTRY BOY
CHAPTER 3 THE CITY BOY
CHAPTER 4 FIVE DAYS AT GRADY HOSPITAL
CHAPTER 5 A FUNERAL IN ELMIRA
CHAPTER 6 THE FOUNTAIN OF MEMORIES AND THE ROAD TO HEALING
CHAPTER 7 NOTHING LOVED IS EVER LOST
CHAPTER 8 THE MENNONITES AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
CHAPTER 9 A RETURN TO THE ICE
CHAPTER 10 THE WOLVES
CHAPTER 11 HEAVEN IS A BETTER PLACE
CHAPTER 12 CARDS AND LETTERS
CHAPTER 13 SUMMER INTO FALL
CHAPTER 14 THE LAWYERS
CHAPTER 15 RECKONING
CHAPTER 16 CLOSURE?
CHAPTER 1 THE CRASH
Atlanta Thrashers general manager Don Waddell had made up his mind and decided it was time to deliver the good news. The start of the NHL season was three weeks away and even though Dan Snyder had not been able to take part in training camp, because he had undergone surgery on an ankle ligament, Waddell wanted the 25 -year-old to know he had made the team. He approached Snyder and Dany Heatley, Waddell s budding star and the most valuable player at the previous season s All-Star Game. At Heatley s invitation, Snyder, a gregarious floppy-haired, gap-toothed player to whom teammates took a liking for his ever-present crooked smile, had been staying with Heatley for about a month, as Snyder had bounced up and down from the minor leagues to Atlanta and back during his previous three seasons.
Are you getting tired of the hotel yet? Waddell asked Snyder.
No, Snyder responded, unsure of the line of questioning. I m staying with him, he added, motioning to Heatley.
You ve got to be tired of him by now, Waddell said to Snyder. I think it s time to get your own place.
On that late September day, in oblique fashion, Waddell signalled to Snyder that he had would be with the team for the entire season. It was the crowning achievement of Snyder s brief professional career. Snyder excitedly called his parents and his brother Jake to inform them of the news and started his housing search. But the celebratory mood would last only a few days.
The week before Thrashers training camp was set to begin, Waddell had persuaded Snyder to have the surgery, explaining bluntly that, with Snyd