Blue Jackets' Matiss Kivlenieks memorialized with tears, laughter and memories: He died a 'hero'

It was an hour of tears, laughter, memories and a lot of emotion.

Eleven days after Matiss Kivlenieks’ life ended at age 24 in a tragic fireworks mishap in Michigan, the former Blue Jackets goalie was memorialized Thursday at Schoedinger Funeral Home in Upper Arlington, a touching service in front of his family, friends, teammates and coaches from nearly every stop of his hockey career.

Emotions led to sobs and a flood of tears. Happier memories ended with laughs. There was even a quip about former Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella, who returned to Columbus to attend.

“Look how many lives you’ve touched, Matiss,” said Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace, who spoke publicly for the first time since the incident at his home in Novi, Michigan. “Look how many lives you’ve touched. Torts even flew in ... and he hates goalies.”

Standing behind him, Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins put his head down and laughed. The rest of the room laughed too.

“That’s the funniest thing that you’ve ever said,” Merzlikins told Legace, lightening the mood to give his coach added strength.

“I know a lot of you guys don’t know, but ever since Kivi joined our organization, he would come up and live with my wife and I, every summer,” Legace said. “And he became a son to us. ... I got to play golf with him every day in the summer. I got to hang out with him, play cards. He got to become one of my family.”

Legace looked toward Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen, who was overcome with emotions multiple times during his own comments.

“Lars, there’s a reason he had the Joker on his mask,” Legace said, referring to the Kivlenieks’ mask design with the famed movie villain on the back. “He had that smile that ... he was gonna getcha, you know? He was gonna getcha.”

Merzlikins got everybody with his memories of Kivlenieks, whom he’d never heard of until the Blue Jackets signed his fellow countryman in 2017. The two developed a strong bond, which Merzlikins said was akin to being brothers.

“I promised myself that I had to come here and talk to him,” Merzlikins said, swallowing hard. “It’s really tough. Matiss ... he wasn’t my friend. Matiss was my little brother.”

Merzlikins said he and his wife, Aleksandra, housed Kivlenieks in their guestroom during the pandemic, which he light-heartedly apologized for because that wasn’t in adherence to the NHL’s COVID-19 policies. Kivlenieks also stayed with the couple upon returning to Columbus on June 23 after playing for Latvia in May during a world championship tournament held in their shared hometown of Riga, Latvia.

In the week leading up to the July 4 holiday weekend, Merzlikins and Kivlenieks were a tandem, both participating in a ride-along event at Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course with IndyCar driver Alex Rossi and also constructing a crib for the unborn son the Merzlikins couple are expecting in September. Merzlikins also posted a photo on Instagram in the days after Kivlenieks’ death of them sitting by the pool at Legace’s home prior to the incident.

It was a wedding for Legace’s daughter, Sabrina, and the two Latvian netminders were having a great time. Police have said a nine-shot rack of fireworks was somehow angled toward a hot tub where Kivlenieks and others were seated, but a police report detailing how it happened has yet to be released.

Merzlikins offered a shocking glimpse into what it was like for those under siege from the mortar shells, which were 3-inches in diameter, legally purchased and legally used.

“He saved, not just many lives … but when it happened, I was standing 20 to 30 feet back of him,” Merzlikins said of Kivlenieks. “And I was hugging my wife. He saved my son, he saved my wife and he saved me. My son’s second name is gonna be Matiss. But accept that ... if that wasn’t me or my wife or son, it would be 50 other people. He died as hero and that’s not me saying that. That was the doctor saying (it). If he would just sit, (he) would’ve had nothing.”

Email Brian Hedger bhedger@dispatch.com or follow him on Twitter @BrianHedger

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Matiss Kivlenieks, Blue Jackets goalie, died a 'hero' in accident