By the time most people meet Fred Merchant, they meet the founder — the visionary who turned a book about hockey players into a Hall of Fame, the 80-something still lacing up his skates twice a week, the Cape Breton boy who became a Colorado legend. His family has known something different for a lot longer. They know the man who mowed the lawn in his work clothes — plaid shorts, over-the-calf socks, a hockey stick nearby. They know the banker who didn't learn to grocery shop until the 1990s, but could put on a suit and tie and look more "proper and esteemed" than anyone in the room. They know the dad who once slammed every kitchen cabinet in the house when he came home and found a high school pool party with underage drinking in his backyard.
We asked Fred's children to share what they see when the rink empties out and everyone goes home. What follows is their story of the man behind the mission — told in their own words.
The Man Who Came Home
Fred Merchant spent his working years as a banker — suited and tied, always put together. His family remembers the contrast vividly. "His casual clothes look was not so refined back then," one child recalled, "but his day job in a suit and tie — he always looked so put together and esteemed."
But the moment he came through the front door, the suit didn't matter. Fred was present. He was teaching. He was outside mowing the lawn the minute he changed clothes. He wanted his kids to understand how everything works — how to paint with a brush versus a roller, how to write a check, where the fuse box was and how to change a fuse when the power went out. He kept flashlights in the most random places. "He was the fun parent," his family said. "Mischievous. Playful."
"He was always teaching us things. He wanted us to know how everything works."
He was also, when it mattered, unmistakably the dad. "He rarely got upset — only occasionally when you did something wrong." The pool party incident became family legend: Fred came home unexpectedly from work to find high schoolers drinking in his backyard. "He was super mad. He was slamming the kitchen cabinets telling everyone to leave." They left.
One of his favorite sayings — offered to the kids whenever they edged too close to the wrong crowd — has stayed with the family all these years: "If you fly with the crows, you will be shot at." His way of saying: the company you keep is a choice. Choose wisely. "We all launched fairly well," his family noted, with the kind of understated pride that says everything.
Hockey in the Blood
Fred didn't play organized hockey when his children were growing up. But hockey was never absent. It was on the television — the Boston Bruins, the Montreal Canadiens, the Detroit Red Wings (his truest love). It was on every frozen pond and cranberry bog within skating distance. And when rollerblades arrived in the early 1980s, Fred was one of the first people in his neighborhood to lace up a pair.
"We can all remember him lacing up his blades and skating around the neighborhood with a hockey stick in his hands," his family said — almost certainly still in something resembling work clothes. "I'm sure our neighbors thought he was nuts, but they knew he was Canadian, so they likely assumed all Canadians did that."
"He loved to get on the ice whenever possible. It did not matter how cold it was — we were on that pond with him for hours and hours. The cold never seemed to bother him."
They skated along the Charles River in Boston. They went to the frozen ponds as a family. Fred taught them all — figure skating, ice hockey, rollerblading. His son Greg was the only one to play on a team. His daughters remember who among them was the most graceful skater (Leone), and who was the most aggressive (Jackie). One of Fred's daughters has a son, Jack, 15, who plays competitive ice and roller hockey. "It makes me happy that he is taking after Dad," she said, "and has a great love of the game."
What Changed at 69
Fred Merchant returned to hockey at 69 years old, joining a men's league in Victoria, BC. His family watched something shift in him that they hadn't expected — or maybe they had, and they just didn't have the word for it until they saw it happen.
"He found joy," his family said. "He found people with a common interest, and they became his community overnight."
It wasn't just the joy of skating again. It was the affirmation — the quiet, powerful proof that at nearly 70 years old, with society largely content to write you off, Fred Merchant could still do the thing he had always loved. "How many people take on something new, or take back up a college sport when you are approaching 70?" one family member asked. The answer, of course, is almost no one. Fred did.
"It gave him a sense of purpose and community. It also affirmed his own abilities at an age when society tends to overlook you."
The Snoopy Tournaments came next — traveling from Victoria, BC to Santa Rosa, CA to play and compete and connect with players from across the US and Canada. The travel was the signal. "When he was travelling internationally to support and play this game he loved, and connected with players from all over — that's when we realized how important it really was to him."
The Real Iron Men, and What Came After
Long before there was a Hall of Fame, there was a phone. For years, Fred Merchant called hockey players — men in their 80s and beyond — and asked them to tell him their stories. He listened. He took notes. He remembered everything. Those conversations became The Real Iron Men of Hockey, a book that would quietly set the foundation for something much larger.
"When you are home with him, he is always on the phone talking to these guys," his family said. "This has been going on since 2019 — when he started interviewing these players for the book. These amazing super-agers have stories to tell. They are his community."
"My father has always been a storyteller. He loves meeting people and learning their unique histories — and he remembers the most random facts. I think he recognizes how much this part of their lives means to each person and wants to memorialize their stories."
His family saw the reaction when those players were reached out to, when they were asked to share something they thought no one cared about anymore. "They were honored to be part of the book," they said, "and we knew the HHOF was the right place to preserve those memories and connections."
Fred's daughter Leone watched the notes and photos come in through the mail over the months of that work. "It is surprising and beautiful," she said, "to see how many players want to share more about themselves through this process."
Building Something While Holding Something Together
There is a detail about the founding of the USA 80+ Hockey Hall of Fame that doesn't appear in any press release. Fred's family knows it, and they shared it here.
Fred was building the Hall of Fame while their mother was slowly fading away from Alzheimer's disease.
"I think Dad needed this project," one family member said. "He was building this organization while our mom was slowly fading away from Alzheimer's. It gave him something positive to focus on that he could control."
"Even during the most difficult time in his — and our — life, when our mom was fading away from Alzheimer's, he was still so kind and measured."
That is Fred Merchant. The man who never let the old man in, as his family puts it — borrowing the phrase that has become almost a motto. The man who, at 89, still has the boy inside. Who, through one of the most painful seasons a family can share, kept showing up with kindness and vision and purpose. The Hall of Fame was not built in spite of grief. It was built alongside it, with the same hands.
What the Family Sees That the Rink Doesn't
Ask Fred's family what people miss when they meet him at the rink or at an event, and the answers come quickly. He is kind and thoughtful. He sees the good and the potential in people. He is open and non-judgmental. He gets things done and does not appreciate roadblocks. And — this matters — he likes plaid pants.
"He still has the boy inside," his family said. "He has not let the old man in. We are so grateful he never became a cranky old man."
As a grandfather, Fred brought those same qualities to the next generation. When his grandson Max was three or four years old, Fred sat with him for over two hours while Max held and examined every item in his toolbox. "Even when he wanted to hold the razor blades — my father patiently watched." He could put on the hard hat and play diggers in the sand for hours. The same man who disciplined with a slammed kitchen cabinet watched with infinite patience while a toddler explored a toolbox one dangerous tool at a time.
Legacy, and Who Made It Possible
Fred's family is proud of the Hall of Fame. But they're also clear-eyed about how it happened. "Dad had this vision of a USA 80+ HHOF and went after it in a very quick timeframe," they said. "I attribute a lot of this to the teamwork coming out of Long Hockey. This group really embraced Dad's vision and has been instrumental to 'getting the puck over the line.'"
The family is specific about names. "Pat, Robin, Mike, Timothy — they took Dad's idea and put it into action." When asked what the phrase "hockey family" means to them when they think about Fred, the answer was simple: "All of you."
"Dad's always been a visionary. It's amazing to see how the USA 80+ HHOF has grown. Long Hockey has been instrumental in building the foundation. This will be Dad's legacy."
And what does hockey give Fred, beyond the game itself? His family didn't hesitate.
"Life. Physical and emotional."
"Friendships and community. Cross-generational connections — it's not just the over-80 players, but hockey has bridged all these generations. He has all these cross-generational friendships and bonds. It's wonderful to see."
"Purpose."
"Seeing the love that envelops my father — that's what has meant the most."
— Fred Merchant's family
Fred Merchant with his family at the inaugural 2025 USA 80+ Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Superior, Colorado.