Yet another loss - the passing of Wade Belak



Wade Belak

 It seems rather surreal that the hockey world could lose yet another of its most beloved members in such a short period of time. August 31st, 2011 marked the passing of one of the NHL's most colorful and most charismatic former players; recently retired defenseman Wade Belak. After parts of 15-seasons in the NHL, Belak had just retired from the game as a member of the Nashville Predators on March 8th and had moved onto television work with the intention of remaining with Nashville in an organizational role. The sad irony of Belak's passing is that within a matter of a four month timespan, he was the third of three toughguy enforcers to have died; the first being New York Rangers' enforcer Derek Boogaard and the second being Winnipeg Jets' scrapper Rick Rypien. In each of the three instances there appears to be concern that depression or misuse of substances (albeit accidental) played a factor in each players' demise.

As stated in my August 21st entry Mental health of players, both during and after their careers, I touched upon the idea that the NHL ought to look into providing services for retired players that help to promote mental health awareness and positive decision making skills. There is always a difficulty in having to let go of something, especially when that something has been both your career and your life. In letting go of the game of hockey and moving onto other roles in life following retirement, some players are able to adjust and handle the changes better than others. The instances are numerous of players who have suffered from depression and/or fell victim to substance abuse after they have retired from their professional hockey careers. More needs to be done to help assimilate retired players into life post-hockey, and the mental health concerns of retired players need to be studied as well in order to prevent any further tragic deaths. There has to be some type of outreach or program to help former players who are in trouble and give them the support that they need.

Outwardly, Belak had so much going for him. Not only was he widely respected by fans, former teammates and opponents, and the hockey world in general, but Belak had found success in other avenues of life. Married with two young daughters, preparing to take part in the upcoming third season of the reality show Battle of the Blades, working in Nashville's broadcasting booth providing color-commentary all seem like such wonderful things. But were they enough to outweigh the loss of retiring and leaving at least the playing-portion of the game behind? According to Belak's mother, Lorraine Belak, he was suffering from depression in the recent times preceeding his death and it was something that he was endeavoring to take control of. Sadly, it appears that Wade Belak was unable to control his bouts with depression which may have in turn led to his untimely death.

Many are left to ponder - is there any significance to the fact that the three players to lose their lives were all enforcers and were all frequenters of dropping the gloves to fight? Some speculate that the repeated blows to the head that these players endured may have damaged their brains in a way that may have caused these players to suffer from depression. In Boogaard's case, his family has decided to donate his brain to the Boston University Medical School, where it can be studied and perhaps shed insight on the effects on the brains of athletes who partake in high-contact sports, especially in regards to the degenerative brain condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The symptoms of this brain condition are somewhat similar to dementia, and include memory loss, aggression, confusion and, perhaps most significantly in these particular instances, depression. Could brain injuries be at least partly responsible for the deaths of these three players?

Regardless of what the underlying reason is in the deaths of Belak, Rypien and Boogaard, the solution is the same - something must be done not only to help players that are presently active in their careers, but also give them the support that they need and provide helpful services to them after they retire. Maybe some form of post-traumatic stress disorder treatments or programs should be offered to retired hockey players. I pride NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on his adamant statement that the League will be reviewing their programs for players dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues, but I firmly believe that the same must be done for players once their playing days are over, and perhaps most crucially during the time frame when they have recently retired from the sport. There has to be a support network for past and present athletes of the game in order to prevent any further tragedies.

Mental health of players, both during and after their careers

Derek Boogaard

With the recent untimely passing of Winnipeg Jets' forward Rick Rypien, I am pleased to see that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has adamantly stated that the League will review its programs for handling both substance abuse and behavioral health programs which are utilized to promote and foster overall strong mental health among the NHL's players accompanied by positive decision making. With the passing of both Rypien and New York Rangers forward Derek Boogaard only months apart, there is obvious cause for concern that the players, just like all people, may need assistance in coping with and handling the strains of everyday life, along with the inherent stress of fame and fortune.

Tom Cavanagh

Sadly, Rypien and Boogaard are not the only hockey players to have been lost to us too young and too soon at the hands of substance abuse or bouts with depression and mental health. Perhaps lesser publicized than Rypien's and Boogard's passings, was the death of former San Jose Sharks forward and Harvard University graduate, Tom Cavanagh, who apparently took his own life in January 2011.

Cavanagh had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been insitutionalized several times during the last months of his life.

Former NHL enforcer and Stanley Cup champion John Kordic died of a drug overdose in the summer of 1992 at the young age of 27. Kordic, one of the most feared enforcers of his time, recorded 997 penalty minutes in only 244 career regular season games. Kordic was one of the many youngsters that contributed to the Montreal Canadiens run to the Cup in 1986, appearing in 18 playoff games that year including all 5 games of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Former New York Rangers' and Dallas Stars' forward Roman Lyashenko took his own life during the summer of 2003 while vacationing with his mother and sister in Antalya, Turkey. Many feel that he had difficulty coping with life in North America, far away from home in his native Russia.

And a handful of other players lost their lives in car accidents where large amounts of alcohol had been involved, including superstar goaltender Pelle Lindbergh, defenseman Steve Chiasson and former St. Louis Blues player Bob Gassoff.

Bob Gassoff

The deaths of all of the aforementioned players stand from Gassoff's passing in the late-1970s until this summer with the deaths of Rypien and Boogaard, so there is an obvious ongoing need to supply NHL players with the proper support and counseling on making wise decisions in life and providing medical support and treatment to the players who may be battling mental illness and depression. But my concern comes in for the players who have retired and have put their playing days behind them. I fear that maybe once a player retires, which in and of itself is a major life-decision and major career-decision that may bring about large amounts of stress and anxiety, that there may not be that support that a person, whether a hockey player or not, would need in life when taking such a major step. For there have been numerous retired hockey players to have either taken their own lives or lost their lives to substance abuse long AFTER their playing days have ended.

Larry Mickey

For example, former NHL journeyman Larry Mickey committed suicide at the age of 38 in July 1982; 7-years after his last game in the NHL. Mickey had lost his first wife in a fatal car-accident in which he was behind the wheel in 1967. In 1982, with his second marriage on the rocks and his career over with having been shortened by injuries and a lack of natural talent, Mickey took his own life. Those close to Mickey believed that he simply could not cope with life after hockey.

A former 50-goal scorer in the NHL while with the Quebec Nordiques, Jacques Richard, played a troubled career and had lived a troubled life. Though Richard had great potential and was slated to be a premier player, he faced injuries during his career which was further marred by bouts with alcoholism, gambling and even cocaine. Having played with the Atlanta Flames, Buffalo Sabres and Quebec, Richard's career was over in 1983. 6-years later, Richard would be arrested for attempted cocaine smuggling and sentenced to 7-years in prison. Richard would eventually die in a car-crash on his 50th birthday after a day of drinking.

Theoren Fleury

As documented in his 2009 book Playing with Fire former NHL superstar Theoren Fleury battled alcohol abuse, drug abuse and depression throughout his playing career and in the years following (not to mention the sexual abuse that he fell victim to at a young age). Fleury, who doesn't receive the accolades he truly deserves in my opinion for being the phenomenal hockey player that he was, has turned his life around for the better and even attempted a comeback with the Calgary Flames.

Considering the tragic lives of these players after their playing days were over, not to mention numerous other players who faced similar problems post-hockey, I think that the League also needs to consider including treatment plans and programs for retired players after they decide to retire in order to help acclimate them to life after hockey. I give full props to the NHL for wanting to better help their present young players in leading healthier lives both mentally and physically, but there also should be options for players who have retired and are having difficulty with moving on with life once they have left hockey. Perhaps some type of grief and loss counseling or programs, open to players who have retired and need to seek help in living life once they have left the game. The NHL should not forget their players of past seasons, and should look out for them with the same care and concern that they do with their present day players. For it would appear that individuals troubled with substance abuse and mental health concerns during their playing days are maybe even more susceptible to troubled personal lives when their playing days are over.