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A fundraiser has been launched for former NHL player and Burnaby firefighter Raymond Sawada.
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Sawada, 38, died on Monday “while playing the game he loved,” he said. GoFundMe is organized by Brian Simshima.
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The Richmond resident reportedly died of a heart attack while playing for a senior men’s league team.
“Ray was such a bright light in life that he touched him,” said the fundraiser. “Ray was driven and driven with passion in everything he did, and the community around him would leave a void.”
He leaves behind his wife, Nicole, and two daughters, Victoria, 9, and Charlotte, 6.
Sawada grew up in Richmond and played for the Nanaimo Clippers, a junior team in the British Columbia Hockey League.
In the NHL, he played with the Dallas Stars, who 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 NHL games before embarking on an international hockey career that included stops in Asia, Finland and the United Kingdom.
He retired from professional hockey in 2016 and went to work as a firefighter in Burnaby.
The fundraiser raised more than $195,000, surpassing its goal of $50,000 in less than 24 hours.
More is coming …
chchan@postmedia.com
– With files from Postmedia
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