Todd Ewen passes away

[Bob Cole]

RIP

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Details of this one are going to be interesting.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Fighting absolutely needs to be outlawed.

 

[kducks]

You guys are already turning this into an anti-fighting rant without even knowing any facts. How about the fact that someone mentioned diabetes sucks on his wife's Facebook page? Why don't we wait until we know the cause before ranting about fighting.

 

[cmorly]

Michael Landsberg tweeted that it was suicide.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

Suicide! That's horrible. RIP Mr Ewen.

 

[iamjs]

You guys are already turning this into an anti-fighting rant without even knowing any facts. How about the fact that someone mentioned diabetes sucks on his wife's Facebook page? Why don't we wait until we know the cause before ranting about fighting.

that was one person who mentioned it like two or three times, which in hindsight makes me wonder what kind of information had been passed around.

In either case, this is still terrible news.

RIP

 

[The Jones Zone]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...r-todd-ewen-as-suicide--report-004027342.html

 

[Spazkat]

Wow... so sad at such a young age.

 

[Philly85*]

He was a goon wasn't he? Tragic. Self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. And people think this sort of stuff is honorable or has some sort of place in the game - fighting and "enforcing" that is. These guys are being horribly affected, which in turn ripples out. It's not right.

 

[Bure All Day]

Suicide... not the first time this has happened to an NHL enforcer.. Rypien, Boogaard, etc. Hockey is a tough game, and this appears to be the consequence of playing a hard style for many years.

 

[Bure All Day]

Fighting absolutely needs to be outlawed.

Football doesn't have fighting, and many of their players do the exact same thing... It's not just the fighting; it's the result of so many hard collision in these physical sports.

 

[Flyerfan52]

Suicide... not the first time this has happened to an NHL enforcer.. Rypien, Boogaard, etc. Hockey is a tough game, and this appears to be the consequence of playing a hard style for many years.

Many/most people that suffer from depression are the type that will do anything for their friends. In the case of hockey players that means fighting for them.

Notice that most enforcers are described as the nicest/friendliest players off the ice. The disease depression is one of the most invisible as they usually seem to be well adjusted high achievers.

True depression is a lot different than the tempory 1 when you blow a job interview or a girl dumps you.
**********************************************************
There was a lot of stuff out the year Rypien & Boogard died. It helped me cope when a friend took his life later that year. I read the note my friend left & it gave me insight into the jumble going on in the mind of a person dealing with the disease.
It won't help me stop others but it sure gives understanding.
***********************************************************************
RIP.
I hope you found peace.

 

[MarkGio]

R.I.P

This is a very sad story. Hopefully the NHL will held accountable if this indeed proves to be a result of an occupational induced disease.

I would see this very similar to a worker who dies from asbestosis.

 

[dechire]

Regardless of what caused or contributed to this, I only wish that he's at peace now.

 

[Overkamp]

I think the combination of CTE, substance (alcohol, drugs and steroids) abuse and depression all seem to be playing a role after these guys retire.

I am sad to hear yet another young guy, who had a great heart, has passed from apparent suicide.

 

[mrhockey193195]

oh jesus. terrible, terrible news.

 

[BCYa]

He was a goon wasn't he? Tragic. Self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. And people think this sort of stuff is honorable or has some sort of place in the game - fighting and "enforcing" that is. These guys are being horribly affected, which in turn ripples out. It's not right.

So would it be better if he never had an NHL career at all?

Depression sucks. It's not just punches to the head that cause it. I don't think there needs to be fighting in hockey, because I don't believe it polices anything. Two goons going at it seems to be just for show. And it certainly seems to be going away in the NHL, there are not many enforcers left at all.

But it still is a physical sport and that can have a mental effect. There is no easy answer. Should checking be banned, too? I don't hear anybody calling for that. Should hockey be banned altogether? We all love it too much for that to happen.

And to think, there used to be dumb-***** who thought it was weak for a goalie to wear a mask and for players to wear helmets!

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

RIP

I hope we can finally learn from the tragic passing of Ewen and other fighters. CTE is no joke. It can cause incurable organic depression.

 

[Balthazar]

Suicide... not the first time this has happened to an NHL enforcer.. Rypien, Boogaard, etc. Hockey is a tough game, and this appears to be the consequence of playing a hard style for many years.

It's more that enforcers in general come from a special background and many of them already have serious issues outside the ice that aren't related to fighting. There is a similar trend with althletes in most fighting sports (think boxing, MMA, etc). Many of these people were in a bad spot since childhood. I'd bet that going pro actually saved quite a few of them.

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

So would it be better if he never had an NHL career at all?

Depression sucks. It's not just punches to the head that cause it. I don't think there needs to be fighting in hockey, because I don't believe it polices anything. Two goons going at it seems to be just for show. And it certainly seems to be going away in the NHL, there are not many enforcers left at all.

But it still is a physical sport and that can have a mental effect. There is no easy answer. Should checking be banned, too? I don't hear anybody calling for that. Should hockey be banned altogether? We all love it too much for that to happen.

And to think, there used to be dumb-***** who thought it was weak for a goalie to wear a mask and for players to wear helmets!

There are risks associated with everything. In my opinion, the benefits of having fighting in the game clearly outweigh the risks. The risk-benefit of checking is different. Saying that outlawing fighting will lead to outlawing checking is a fallacy.

 

[MarkGio]

It's more that enforcers in general come from a special background and many of them already have serious issues outside the ice that aren't related to fighting. There is a similar trend with althletes in most fighting sports (think boxing, MMA, etc). Many of these people were in a bad spot since childhood. I'd bet that going pro actually saved quite a few of them.

I don't know if that applies to hockey players.

Hockey is a middle class sport, and not saying that the middle class are free of any sort of domestic issues, but hockey goons aren't fighting because that's who they are, they're fighting because they want to keep their job as hockey players. They're fighting so that the coach keeps them on the bench, which gives them ice time to play the game. Watching a goon score a regular goal is like watching Crosby score a goal medal goal. That's what they're really trying to accomplish. They deep down hoped to strike lucky and pot 20 goals in a season, so that they can be paid for something other than fights.

There is no other objective in boxing and MMA. In hockey, staged fighting was only a side distraction to the real purpose of the game.

 

[Balthazar]

I don't know if that applies to hockey players.

Hockey is a middle class sport, and not saying that the middle class are free of any sort of domestic issues, but hockey goons aren't fighting because that's who they are, they're fighting because they want to keep their job as hockey players.

I disagree. They aren't any different than boxers and such. No one is getting up one morning and decide that it would be fun to make a career out of getting punched in the face. They just become good at it.

I was reading the story of former NHL enforcer Patrick Cote just last week. Dude can't stay out of prison now and it's not because that he's got hit too many times in the face. Look it up.

I'm convinced that if you'd look at the childhood of the average enforcer vs the childhood of the average superstar, you'd see quite a difference.

 

[Hooliganx3]

I disagree. They aren't any different than boxers and such. No one is getting up one morning and decide that it would be fun to make a career out of getting punched in the face. They just become good at it.

I was reading the story of former NHL enforcer Patrick Cote just last week. Dude can't stay out of prison now and it's not because that he's got hit too many times in the face. Look it up.

I'm convinced that if you'd look at the childhood of the average enforcer vs the childhood of the average superstar, you'd see quite a difference.

A lot of enforchers were good skilled hockey players in youth leagues. Then they get to Juniors or the AHL ect and they realize they are not as skilled as thier compition at that level. They still want to make hockey a career so they find a nitch to help them continue playing.

You should look up the Article called why we fight..