VANCOUVER — A former NHL player and Burnaby firefighter who died suddenly on the ice was remembered by family and friends as a talented hockey player, devoted family man, and all-around great guy.
Raymond Sawada, 38, died on Monday “while playing the game he loved,” according to the organized by Brianne Sameshima, a relative.
The Richmond resident, who once played with the Nanaimo Clippers, died of a heart attack while playing for the Richmond Cowboys, a recreational senior men’s league team, at the Richmond Ice Centre on Monday evening.
He leaves behind his wife Nicole, and two daughters, Victoria, nine, and Charlotte, six.
“They were having an Easter dinner combination with his daughter’s birthday,” said Doug Paterson, a family friend and president of the Richmond Sockeyes. “He left the family dinner, went off to play hockey, and never made it back home. It’s so tragic.”
Sawada grew up in Richmond and, as a teen, played with the Sockeyes from 2001 to 2003.
He played with the Nanaimo Clippers in the 乌鸦传媒 Hockey League, before going to Cornell University, where he majored in a nutritional science program.
Sawada also played for the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League before getting called up to the big leagues.
In the National Hockey League, he played for the Dallas Stars, which drafted him in the second round of the 2004 NHL entry draft. He made his NHL debut and scored his first goal on his 24th birthday.
He played 10 more games in the NHL before embarking on an international hockey career that included stops in Asia, Finland and the U.K. He retired from professional hockey in 2016, settled down in Richmond and went on to work as a firefighter in Burnaby in 2017.
Despite making it to the pros, Sawada remained humble and rooted in his community, where both his and wife Nicole’s families were longtime residents. He stayed involved with the Sockeyes, playing in an alumni game in February. He looked healthy and good, recalled Paterson. “Fit as a fiddle.”
The last time Paterson saw Sawada was about five weeks ago when he gave a motivational speech to young Sockeyes players starting their playoff season: “I will always remember the words of wisdom in his speech. His words and presence meant a lot to the players, big time.”
Paterson said some of Sawada’s buddies who were on the ice with him worked feverishly to revive him after he collapsed, including using a defibrillator, but without success. “When the ambulance got there, it was too late,” he said. His teammates were devastated and traumatized, “but the paramedics told them they did everything in their power, there was nothing they could have done.”
Sawada’s death has hit his loved-ones, local hockey community and beyond hard.
Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley, a former firefighter, knew Sawada in a professional capacity and knew him to be an “exceptional person.”
Sawada’s colleagues at the Burnaby fire department are devastated, said Hurley.
“He was held in very high regard among his peers,” he said. “He’ll be sorely missed, not just by his closest family but by the fire department and the City of Burnaby family as well.”
Sawada, who coached his daughters’ Richmond Ravens female hockey team, was remembered as a “devoted coach, who could be seen selflessly passing on his love and passion for the game to each of the girls he was on the ice with.
“We will forever remember his bright smile, kind heart and dedication to our [association],” said the Ravens in a statement.
Sawada was just a genuinely down-to-earth, family- and community-minded nice guy, said Paterson. “A super genuine human being. Ray was at the top of the class. He’s going to be missed dearly, but he’ll never be forgotten.”
The Sockeyes plan to launch a scholarship in Sawada’s honour during an awards luncheon on Saturday. They will also retire his Sockeye jersey. On Wednesday afternoon, the fundraiser had collected just over $240,000, surpassing a $50,000 goal in less than 24 hours.
