Wade Belak Dead at 35
More sad news in the summer of 2011 for hockey. The QMI Agency is reporting that Wade Belak has been found dead in a Toronto hotel:
The 35-year-old from Saskatoon was found in the tony 1 King West hotel and condo residence.
Belak retired in March after a long NHL career that included stops in Colorado, Calgary, Toronto, Florida and Nashville. He was recently announced as one of the ex-NHLers who would be performing on CBC's Battle of the Blades this year.
Belak will be the third recent NHLer to die, fourth if you include Barry Potomski, who played in the NHL briefly in the 90s. Belak, along with Derek Boogaard, were both pure enforcers. Rick Rypien, tough in his own right, but never seemed to be labeled 'enforcer' outside of his run-in with a Wild fan or post-death. Their deaths will all be linked, whether or not it's proper to do so. It took time for details about Boogaard's death to become public, and Rypien's issues were a public secret. There's no information about Belak, and it'd be best not to speculate.
Popular wherever he played, Belak was known for his off-beat personality and good sense of humor. He knew his role in the game and was self-deprecating. We had a few conversations and he'd always find a way to make me laugh. He had good timing, and would use it anywhere. I'd text him some morning skates, asking if he was going to play that night. Most of the time he'd let me know immediately, but some nights he'd wait until the moment the buzzer sounded at the end of the third period to simply write “nope.”
My sincerest condolences go out to his family & friends for their loss.
