King’s Goalie Pays Tribute to Deceased Hamden Coach

They're small words, almost unnoticeable, on the back of the goalie's mask for the Los Angeles Kings. But in this way, Jonathan Quick has memorialized his friend and former Avon Old Farms player Jason Pagni, according to The Hartfordite.

Quick’s mask reads “Everybody Rides, Pags.”

Jason Pagni, 43, died in a crash on Jan. 31, near his hometown of Hamden, according to The Courant. He was part of Avon Old Farms' first New England championship team in 1989, and he became a youth coach and owner of Connecticut Yankees Hockey Organization and Hamden Hockey House.

Pagni helped coach Quick, a native of Milford, and several other talented young players.

Avon Old Farms coach John Gardner said everybody rides “is shorthand for keep pushing and everybody pulling together,” The Courant reported.