If anyone had a bad word to say about long-time hockey builder Graham Tuer, they would probably find themselves on an island unto themselves.
A North Battleford product who became a pillar in growing the game in Regina and throughout the province of Saskatchewan, Tuer passed away Tuesday at age 87 and the tributes have been pouring in from all over the hockey world ever since.
“Graham never had a bad word to say about anyone,” Regina Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock said of Tuer, who had worked with the Western Hockey League team for a number of years, including his most recent stint as a scout and minor hockey liaison. “He lived his life like we all wish we would have lived our own.”
“The Saskatchewan Hockey community has lost an influential member with Graham’s passing,” Saskatchewan Hockey Association general manager Kelly McClintock said. “He’s been a tireless supporter of the game from the grassroots level all the way up to the Western Hockey League. He’s positively impacted the lives of countless people in the province and his presence will be sadly missed.”
Tuer spent the first 21 years of his life in North Battleford before heading to Regina, where he spent over 35 years working with the provincial government until retiring as the director of Human Resources in 1987.
It was there that his work in hockey began, starting with volunteering at the local level when his kids were playing, before moving up the ranks to have roles in administration, management and scouting at every level of the game in Saskatchewan.
“It’s all luck,” Tuer said prior to his induction into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame at the Civic Centre in July. “You never say no to any opportunity that is presented to you.
“There’s lots of people that want to be involved with the sport, but they don’t want to take the time to sit in the rinks and watch the little kids. You have to accept a role and learn from people that know more than what you think you know. You can’t pass on an opportunity from learning from the local scene as you’ll learn what you need to apply yourself to moving up to a higher level.”
One of Tuer’s major accomplishments was helping to create the Saskatchewan Development Model, which is a collaboration between the Saskatchewan Hockey Association, the Western Hockey League, the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League to offer an athlete-centered development and education program to players across the province.
“A lot of what Graham did was out of the limelight,” Regina Leader-Post sports editor Rob Vanstone said. “He’s been bestowed with so many honours that have come his way over the last few years, but he was never a front-and- centre guy with the jobs that he had.
“I think what made him special is the way that he did everything. He played a huge role in helping the Saskatchewan Midget AAA league become established as a well-run league and what he did with the Saskatchewan Development Model was huge. When you look at the torrent of tributes that have come in over the last week, you realize just what a giant figure Graham was for hockey in Saskatchewan and just how many people he left an impression on.”
Tuer was a member of the Midget AAA league’s board of directors since 1983 and he was the manager for the Regina Pat Canadians when they won the Air Canada Cup (now known as the Telus Cup) national championship in 1988.
He would go on to work as an assistant general manager and a scout for the Regina Pats before a two year stint with the Moose Jaw Warriors, where he worked as a special assistant to the general manager under his son Al.
Tuer then spent 20 years as a member of the Kelowna Rockets scouting staff and also worked with the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting Service.
“God’s been on my side along the way,” Tuer said. “I really couldn’t ask for much more as I’ve been treated wonderfully at every level I’ve been at.
“I always wanted to be involved in hockey and reflecting back on it, you five up a lot of family time to be part of the athletic world. However, I’ve been able to be involved with such a wonderful group of people from one coast the other, I would really hate to be on the outside looking in of that.”
Tuer’s warmth towards others has been a common thread in many of the tributes over the last week, as he was always quick with a smile, a great story or a one-liner when he ran into someone at the rink or around town.
“Graham loved to poke fun at himself and people loved giving it back to him,” Vanstone said. “Chad Mercier was the goaltender for the Pats during the mid- 90s and he would have a great quote battle with Graham all of the time.
“Chad would work him into a quote, which I would of course run, and Graham would be all sheepish when I told him he needed to fire back and he would always do so in a good-natured way. Even though he was much older than the players, he still had a great rapport with them and I think deep down he was still that fun-loving kid that he was growing up in North Battleford.”
In addition to his recent induction into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame, Tuer received Hockey Canada’s Order of Merit in 2015 and was presented with a Distinguished Service Award by the WHL in 2010.
He was also inducted into the Regina Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and had a Bantam AA tournament named after him by Hockey Regina in 2007.
“It’s a culmination of being involved for an awful lot of years in hockey and being associated with a heck of a lot of nice people,” Tuer said in July.
“To be inducted here into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame and to be recognized by Hockey Canada a couple of years ago, I’m not sure I could ask for much more from the hockey gods.”
A memorial service for Tuer is planned for Tuesday at the Queensbury Convention Centre in Regina starting at 2 p.m
