Ice hockey - the dark side of the game: Part 1

When I was watching Sports Personality of the Year recently, it got to that point of the evening when they took a look back to remember all those who had passed away over the last year. The notable inclusions were Sir Henry Cooper, Smoking Joe Fraser, Marco Simoncelli, Dan Wheldon, Socrates, Seve Ballesteros and Gary Speed. The latter two had a pretty big impact on me, being a fan of both golf and football. However, there were some that they forgot which had an even greater impact on me, from the world of ice hockey. What happened was without doubt the worst summer for the sport off the ice. And that's the worst part, the fact they happened in rapid succession.
It all started back on 13th May after Derek Boogaard of the New York Rangers was found dead in his apartment in Minneapolis. It was believed that at the time he died from an overdose of alcohol and oxycodone, which he was taking whilst recovering from a concussion, but had grown dependent on them. The next was Rick Rypien on 15th August, who had recently signed for the newly reformed Winnipeg Jets. He was found dead at his home in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta. His death was confirmed as suicide, but unlike Boogaard it was revealed he had been suffering from depression for over ten years. The next major death was that of a fellow enforcer like Boogaard and Rypien; Wade Belak had just retired from the game, but was found dead in a hotel room in Toronto on August 31st. Police treated it as suicide, but his family believed that his death was accidental. Like Rypien, it was revealed that Belak had suffered from depression. All three of them were diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy and extra concerns were raised because of their role as enforcers. This is an issue for all contact sports and there needs to be more done either by the league or players' association to try and prevent further incidents. The hockey world was in mourning for those three and everybody thought that it couldn't get worse, but unfortunately it didn't...
On 7th September, the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League) team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl were flying to Minsk for their first game of the season. Unfortunately, the plane they were on failed to take off before the end of the runway and when it eventually did it crashed into a tower mast. Eyewitness reports described it "bursting into flames" after hitting the mast and "rolling to the left" before crashing on the riverbank of the Tunoshna River. 44 people, including the whole team, were killed; only the flight engineer survived. Investigations have been carried out into determining the cause of the crash and it was put down to pilot error and mechanical malfunction. This incident made headlines around the world, even here in the UK where there were similarities to the Munich air disaster in 1958. Amongst those in the crash were coach Brad McCrimmon (an assistant coach the previous year with the Detroit Red Wings), Stefan Liv (the 2008 Swedish Player of the Year and a gold medalist at the Winter Olympics in 2006), Pavol Demitra (a three-time NHL All-Star), Josef Vasicek (a Stanley Cup winner with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006) and many others with NHL experience. A memorial service was held at the team's home arena and approximately 100,000 people attended; many players were remembered by their former teams by having their players wear commemorative patches or retiring their jersey number. The NHL game on October 13th between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals was dedicated to the team, especially due to the fact it featured Russians Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin. Both teams wore special patches on their jerseys, which they signed and auctioned off to raise money for the families of the victims.
These death shocked the whole hockey world, but it is important to take into account that they'll never be forgotten. You may be an enforcer on the ice, but you may be completely underestimated off it. Players who suffer from depression need to know that there is somebody that they can talk to. And, if/when Lokomotiv Yaroslavl return and win another title, it could be the greatest comeback in sporting history...