21 Sep
Former Maple Leaves enforcer Wade Belak was found dead in his hotel room in Toronto on the 31 of August. He was 35 years of age at the time of death. No cause of death was released though foul play was ruled out.
Belak was a popular player in the NHL circuit. He was born in Saskatoon in 1976 and began his NHL career in 1996 with the Colorado Avalanche and continued with the Calgary Flames for two years from 1998- 2001 and played for the Toronto Maples from 2001 to 2008. He played for the Florida panthers for a couple of years and was with the Nashville Predators until his retirement from the NHL in March 2011.
At the time of his death he was in Toronto to take part in The Battle of the Blades, a popular CBS competition he has just signed up to do.
His tragic death follows the deaths of fellow NHL players Derek Boogaard of the New York Rangers who died in May this year of an accidental over dose of prescription medication and alcohol and Winnipeg Jets Rick Rypien who died on 15 August this year from an unknown cause of death, though suicide is suspected.