Funeral Wednesday for Newmarket Jr. A player
Funeral Wednesday for Newmarket Jr. A player
Newmarket
June 30, 2008 04:04 PM
K.J. Ramolla was popular assistant captain of Hurricanes
By: Jim Mason & John Cudmore, Staff Writers
Newmarket Hurricanes assistant captain Karl (KJ) Ramolla was killed Saturday in a car accident near Port Severn.
The 20-year-old resident of Minesing, north of Barrie, played the last two seasons for the Hurricanes after two years with the rival Couchiching Terriers.
Ramolla was a passenger in a vehicle also occupied by former Hurricanes’ captain Ryan Burkholder that left Hwy. 400 near Muskoka Road 38 about 5:30 p.m.
“KJ was a great player and more importantly a great friend that was loved and respected by his teammates and peers,” said Hurricanes president and part owner Anthony Pietramala in a statement on newmarkethurricanes.com
“(The incident) took him from us far too early in life. Our deepest sympathies and prayers are with the Ramolla family.”
He is survived by his parents, Karl and Sonia Ramolla, sisters Petra and Alicia and grandparents Karl Sr. and Gladys Ramolla.
Messages of condolence may be forwarded to the family at adamsfuneralhome.ca
Visitation is Tuesday from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A funeral mass is to be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Church at 65 Amelia St. in Barrie. For more information, call 705-728-4344.
Burkholder, 20, was not seriously injured, the Hurricanes said. He was treated in hospital in Parry Sound and released. The Newmarket resident just completed his first year playing at the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
Ramolla played the past two seasons with the Hurricanes after joining the team from the Couchiching Terriers as a free agent when the Orillia-based team did not operate during the 2005-06 season.
He was eligible to play for the Hurricanes this season, although general manager-head coach Brian Perrin said Ramolla, a forward, was hoping to land an opportunity to play at the NCAA level next season.
Ramolla had seasons of 21 and 26 goals for the Hurricanes and accumulated 117 points in 97 regular season games.
“It’s hard to explain, I don’t have words for it,” said Perrin when contacted Monday morning. “Like everyone says, you hear about stuff like this all the time, but it never hits home until it happens to someone close to you.
“He’s the kind of kid you will notice (at his funeral) how many people he touched. He was the kind of kid people radiated to. It’s hard to rationalize, a 20-year-old kid, so full of life. KJ’s personality was that he treated everyone like his best friend.”
The Hurricanes players were scheduled to meet with grief counsellors.
Police continue to investigate the cause of the accident.
— with files from parrysound.com