NHL Player Found Dead at Home
Winnipeg Jets forward Rick Rypien, 27, has been found dead in his home in Coleman, Alberta, Canada, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Police were called Monday afternoon, at around noon local time, to attend to the residence owned by Rypien. Officials would not speculate as to the cause of death, but said that it did not appear to be of a suspicious nature.
Rick Rypien played six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, totalling 119 games. He scored only 16 points in his NHL career, but accumulated a hefty 226 penalty minutes. Rypien signed with the Winnipeg Jets as a free agent on July 1st of this year. The majority of the 2010-2011 season was a write-off for Rypien, who was suspended after scuffling with a fan. After being assessed a ten minute major penalty and being escorted off the ice, Rypien pushed a Minnesota Wild fan who was heckling him at an adjacent railing. He did not play for the remainder of the season. He was excited at his recent signing with the Jets, and had ties in the province of Manitoba dating back to his days playing junior hockey with the Manitoba Moose.
According to his friend Allain Roy, Rypien struggled privately with depression. “Obviously he’s had his battles,” said Roy, Rypien’s long-time agent. “Everybody supported Rick, from his family to his teammates, everybody was first class as far as how they dealt with everything." Roy and Canucks general manager Mike Gillis declined to comment on his struggles with depression, although Gillis outlined how they had helped him in his fight. "We relied on experts,” Gillis said. “And we relied on both NHLPA and NHL doctors".
Rick Rypien is the second NHL player to die unexpectedly this off-season. New York Ranger player Derek Boogard died in May due to accidental overdose of alcohol, and the powerful narcotic oxycodone.
Image courtesy of VancityAllie
Follow Technorati