At 17, David Savard left to play hockey in Moncton. His career then took him to Springfield, Columbus then Tampa, before joining the Montreal Canadiens in his early thirties.
During all these years spent away from home, a voice systematically brought him closer to Quebec. In his headphones, during long trips, Karl Tremblay and the Dashing Cowboys brought him closer to home.
Savard was therefore deeply saddened to learn, on Wednesday, that the 47-year-old singer had succumbed to cancer.
“It marked my youth,” said the defender on Thursday morning. The first concert I saw in my life was the Cowboys Fringants in a small arena in Saint-Liboire. I must have been 10 or 11. I had the chance to see them again at the Bell Center, and again this summer at the Festival d’été de Québec. I will keep exceptional memories of this band. »
“They brought him a chair, he took breaks, but you could see how much he wanted to do it [this show],” Savard continued. Everyone was there with him, to experience this grandiose moment… We all had a lot of respect for him, for all the energy he gave. »
Unsurprisingly, On My Shoulder is the title that most spontaneously comes to mind for the veteran when he thinks of the group, precisely because of the show on the Plains. “It’s going to stay with me for the rest of my life,” he says.
However, many other titles, like En Berne or Le shack à Hector, still resonate with him having listened to them dozens of times.
“It’s music that everyone can relate to,” notes Savard. During long bus trips, when I was far from Quebec, it brought me home. When I was the only Quebecer in my clubs, it was always part of my playlist. It felt good to come home. »
At the CH, the biggest fan of the Cowboys is apparently Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who however did not meet the journalists on Thursday. Samuel Montembeault nevertheless said he spontaneously exchanged text messages with him at the end of the day on Wednesday. The two were thus able to share their distress.
“It’s bad,” exclaimed the goalkeeper. I was in the car with my parents yesterday and we were coming back from the grocery store. They stopped the radio show to announce the news. It was really sad. When I opened social media, it was everywhere. You realized even more to what extent [Karl Tremblay] touched many people. »
By chance, the Habs’ opponents this Thursday evening are the Vegas Golden Knights, an American team that has three Quebecers in its lineup.
Jonathan Marchessault and William Carrier, without being die-hard Cowboys fans, said they were saddened by the news. The two, however, directed us to their teammate Nicolas Roy.
The native of Amos, in Abitibi, spoke of a “mixture of sadness and good memories”. “It’s part of our roots, our heritage,” noted the center player. With my friends, we listened to them so much… Since yesterday [Wednesday], we’ve been telling ourselves how many good times we’ve had. »
“It’s a part of Quebec that is crying today,” he concluded.
