Rest In Peace, The Tikkanen

[He pukes you die]

Super bummed to hear this....as you mentioned he had a very dry sense of humor so the dead pan delivery of his jokes made a funny quip hysterical. Some of my funniest hockey stories had him as a central player. I lost touch with him over the years but can regale a couple of stories....

In the locker room before a game, and this was early 2000s a couple of players on the team were metal heads. So they brought up the topic of the Great White fire that killed a couple of people and the metal heads were talking about what a horrible tragedy it was and the rest of the room kind of quiet listening to their conversation in semi reverence given the topic.. As their conversation winded down Jeff looked over at them and said "thats what they get for liking Great White."

Another story I wont forget was having drinks at the Anaheim bar after a roller game and as the waitress came to the table she spilled someones mixed drink, basically sending half of it to the ground. We laughed because she still put the drink on the table, now half empty and made no mention she would get another one nor apologizing. She looked at Jeff and asked what he wanted to drink and he said "anything that has a lid."

Really sorry to hear this....he was a total legend.

DUDE... I had never heard those stories but thank you so much for sharing, I can totally picture and hear him saying that. Amazing.

 

[kovacro]

That’s unfortunate to hear. Condolences go out to his family.

Did not know him but, he had some posts on here I recall having a good laugh to after reading them. Seemed like a good dude.

 

[Matt13]

We had a line brawl at Anaheim Hockey Club and Jeff was on top of a guy with what I can only describe as his hand looking like an eagle claw trying to rip the guys cheek off because he couldn’t get past the visor to punch him in the nose.

 

[kilowatt]

Damn, f*** cancer. Rest in peace, Jeff.

 

[ScoreZeGoals]

RIP, so sad to hear.

 

[KingsFan7824]

RIP

 

[kingsboy11]

Damn that's terrible. I do recall him saying that he had cancer, but here he was still posting regularly and keeping up with the discussions even though his time was coming. Thanks for sharing the stories guys.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Yep, had some roller battles with the dude way back in the day....he wasn't nearly as good of a player as he thought he was...but this is sad. RIP.

 

[mysterman2]

DUDE... I had never heard those stories but thank you so much for sharing, I can totally picture and hear him saying that. Amazing.

One other story I remember fondly was back in the days when we play LGK roller games at TSC. There was one poster who chronically talked trash on the boards and before this game had gotten into verbal sparring with Tikkanen and they were taunting each other saying theyd settle it on the rink. I had hurt my knee so was reffing the game and not playing, before the game this guy comes up and says "hey do you think he will try and do something or does he know Im just messing around?" and right as Im about to answer "its no biggie" or something else to not fan the flames; Jeff comes out wearing a vintage Philadelphia flyers jersey. So as I point out Jeff on the rink and notice the Flyers jersey I cant help but bust this guys chops a bit so said to him, "Dude, ive played a ton of hockey with this guy but Ive never seen him wear a flyers jersey- never. what the hell did you say to him?" and feigned to be concerned as if the Flyers jersey clearly meant revenge was on his mind.

He gave Jeff a pretty wide birth that entire game....dont think anything happened but will never forget the look on his face seeing Jeff take his warm up skate with the old Flyers Jersey and Jeff's patented stone cold expression he would carry during games.

Great memories and he was a total legend. Will be missed for sure.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Man, thank you for sharing, but what awful news.

Never had the honor of meeting him in person but lots of great conversations over the year, dude could needle with the best of anyone here so it's no surprise to me he gave it to everyone on the rink too but he could take it too, and just like a hockey player, once it was settled, it was settled.

It's wild how many 'names' I remember from over the years just posting on Kings message boards, and that's one of the oldest I remember. f*** cancer, may he rest in peace.

 

[Islcey]

Sad to read these. I'm another guy that has been around since the stone age. R.I.P. Tik, I remember you being a big part of the conversations in the past. F Cancer

 

[yankeeking]

He will be missed ,at least we got to enjoy those June nights together RIP
My favorite Irish toast goodbye . “ May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows your dead “

 

[Nickster]

Effing cancer. Rest in peace.

 

[SufferingSelfCreated]

Rest In Peace. Say hi to Mark & Ace for us.

 

[RocketKing]

Hi everyone, I don't post a ton here but I lurk from time to time. I used to post under "Beauty, Eh?" way back when. I met Jeff (The Tikkanen) going back to 2002 or so and we became good friends. Unfortunately, Jeff was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer (Giloblastoma, the same cancer John McCain had) in early 2019. After a very courageous battle and giving it everything he had, Jeff passed away on Saturday evening.

He was easily the funniest person I have ever met in my life and I am going to miss him a lot. Some of the stuff that guy would come up with made me laugh extremely hard - he was exceptionally quick-witted with the dryest sense of humor you had ever seen (and a dry sense of humor is the best type of humor, IMHO).

I am not sure how many people here knew him but I felt it was a good idea to inform you all since many of you interacted with him often on this board and some of the other ones as well.

Take care, and F*CK CANCER.

This is such bad news. I knew Tik and we played a bit of roller with him. He was a funny guy in a dry sort of way. Sadly he died from the same thing that killed my mom 2 years ago. Always enjoyed his conversations and talking hockey. RIP.

 

[No Name The Nameless]

I'm very sad to hear this. I don't know what to add that doesn't sound self satisfying but I suppose at times like this it's good to relate our personal experiences with those we lost.

Like many of you Jeff and I were friends for 20 years. In my young years he was often the father figure that I needed, rather than the figure that I had. The kind of dude who wasn't afraid to take me aside and say shut the hell up or man the hell up. Never too serious but 100% meaningful.

Jeff was the kind of guy who was a bit older but as a young guy you wanted to hang out with. He'd been through it and was willing to be there for the ones that came after him...in a way that only Jeff could.

When I moved away we faded away as people do but when he noticed my online patterns he was always quick to call or message and smack me around. Always done in a way that wouldn't make him look weak or look like he cared too much, but perfectly articulated nonetheless.

I've lost a lot of people in what has been a relatively early stage of my life. At this stage I rarely think of it when it happens. This one has got me thinking. Moreso than it should considering the fact that I've not physically seen him in 11 years. Perhaps it's the fact that it's the complete opposite of a selfish death. The opposite of how I see a friend passing. Maybe it's because I had no idea. He never told me, yet he still was on our fantasy leagues making jokes about kicking our ass. I respect the hell out of it. Almost makes me wish he was a pansy and bitched and cried his way to death so I wouldn't respect him as much.

I'm rambling at this stage so I'm going to stop before I tell you about the time he waxed my chest and damn near took my nipple off.
Whoops. Too late

 

[No Name The Nameless]

Rest In Peace. Say hi to Mark & Ace for us.

Mark?

 

[Fat Elvis]

I'm sorry to hear this news about your friend.

Tikk has been around here as long as I can remember. Always was on point with his opinions and "one upped" us every time with a better joke/line than the last post. I read his posts every time because you were better off after you read his thoughts. A rare light. RIP Tikk

 

[No Name The Nameless]

Hey all. I will be hosting a gathering in memory of Jeff tomorrow at 7pm Pct on Zoom.
We can have a drink or two and talk all think King's or tell Jeff stories. I will update with the details this afternoon. Pass this along.

 

[Matt13]

One other story I remember fondly was back in the days when we play LGK roller games at TSC. There was one poster who chronically talked trash on the boards and before this game had gotten into verbal sparring with Tikkanen and they were taunting each other saying theyd settle it on the rink. I had hurt my knee so was reffing the game and not playing, before the game this guy comes up and says "hey do you think he will try and do something or does he know Im just messing around?" and right as Im about to answer "its no biggie" or something else to not fan the flames; Jeff comes out wearing a vintage Philadelphia flyers jersey. So as I point out Jeff on the rink and notice the Flyers jersey I cant help but bust this guys chops a bit so said to him, "Dude, ive played a ton of hockey with this guy but Ive never seen him wear a flyers jersey- never. what the hell did you say to him?" and feigned to be concerned as if the Flyers jersey clearly meant revenge was on his mind.

He gave Jeff a pretty wide birth that entire game....dont think anything happened but will never forget the look on his face seeing Jeff take his warm up skate with the old Flyers Jersey and Jeff's patented stone cold expression he would carry during games.

Great memories and he was a total legend. Will be missed for sure.

He later hooked up with that guys girlfriend. First he's in your head, scores a goal, then steals your girl. The Tikkanen Hattrick.

 

[Maynard]

I don’t believe in an afterlife but if there is one, he’s there. Criticizing everyone’s fitness and work ethic.

 

[He pukes you die]

He later hooked up with that guys girlfriend. First he's in your head, scores a goal, then steals your girl. The Tikkanen Hattrick.

Oh yes... that was an infamous story, haha.

 

[He pukes you die]

Thank you everyone, for all the warm messages regarding Jeff. Quick story - on Thanksgiving in 2019, I knew he didn't have any plans, so I invited him to go to dinner with my girlfriend and I. At that time, she and I had been dating for only a year or so and she had never met Jeff but she knew the situation he was in and was excited to finally meet him (Jeff, our other buddy and I had been in a years-long running group text and spoke every single day, so she definitely had heard some stories).

On the drive to the restaurant, I was attempting to explain to her his personality and I recall it being extremely difficult to put into words - I honestly could not "explain" how he was as a person. After giving it a couple minutes of thought, I finally just said he was very quiet, very gruff but absolutely hilarious and though he seemed like a prick, he was a genuinely nice guy. And after stumbling on even those words while trying my best to articulate, I flatly said "You know... I have never met anyone like Jeff and I don't think I ever will again." The guy was just in a word, unique.

He ended up paying for our entire dinner that night as well even though I had invited him and told him it was on me, which is a testament to his generosity and character, regardless of what others may have thought about him.

 

[He pukes you die]

I don’t believe in an afterlife but if there is one, he’s there. Criticizing everyone’s fitness and work ethic.

Hahaha... that last part literally made me laugh out loud because it is so accurate. And he will definitely be asking God why on earth out of all the guys the Kings could have signed in the offseason, they signed Mark Alt.

 

[He pukes you die]

Mark?

Mark Bavis.

Mark Bavis - Wikipedia