Matiss Kivlenieks and Rick Bowness are separated by 5 years, but Columbus still carries his memory into every season.
That is what hits hardest on this date. Kivlenieks died on July 4, 2021, at age 24, and the loss still sits differently around the Blue Jackets than a normal hockey anniversary.
He was more than a prospect goalie in the system. Kivlenieks had already reached the NHL, and Blue Jackets people talked then about his bright future and the energy he brought into a room.
Fans in Columbus still remember the image that first pulled many of them in. He walked into Madison Square Garden for his NHL debut in 2020 and came out with a win over the Rangers.
His pro track was still climbing when everything stopped. In 2020-21, he went 6-2 with a 2.25 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage for Cleveland in limited AHL action.
That is part of why this day never feels like a simple look back. Columbus was not only grieving a young man it loved. It was grieving a career and a life that still felt wide open.
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The hockey world is still grieving one of its greatest tragedies
The answer starts with what teammates said after he died. Elvis Merzlikins called Kivlenieks a hero at the memorial service and said he saved others during the fireworks accident.
Merzlikins then carried that bond forward in a way nobody in Columbus will forget. When his son was born, the boy's middle name was Matiss.
The tributes did not stop there. Pierre-Luc Dubois changed to No. 80 with Winnipeg to honor Kivlenieks, whose Blue Jackets number had already become part of how the hockey world remembered him.
Columbus honored him during the 2021 home opener, and the Blue Jackets also created the Matiss Kivlenieks Memorial Fund tied to youth hockey and Latvia.
That is why this anniversary still lands so hard. Kivlenieks is remembered as the baby-faced Latvian goalie with real promise, but also as someone whose loss pulled an entire fan base together in grief and respect.
Five years later, that has not changed. Matiss Kivlenieks is still part of Columbus, still part of Blue Jackets memory, and still one of those names the city says softly because it never forgot what he meant.
Source : Hockey News
Will Matiss Kivlenieks always remain one of the most emotional figures in Blue Jackets history?
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