Derek Boogaard LW (2010-2011) Hal Loaycoe D (1945-1947) John Ross Roach G (1928-1932) Gaye Stewart LW (1951-1952)
Remembering The "Boogeyman" on his Birthday
(excerpts from "Boy On Ice: The Life and Death of Derek Boogaard")
Standing 7 feet tall on his skates, Derek Leendert Boogaard looked nothing like a "boy." To his hockey opponents and the fans who wildly cheered him, he was the Boogeyman, an enforcer who could shatter a nose or jaw with a single, powerful punch. At the height of his career, earning millions in the National Hockey League, Boogaard was everyone's favorite "goon," his job not to play but to fight.
Lacking skill, yet eager to be part of the sport any way he could, he accepted the role of brawler, and the dream slowly turned nightmarish. His injuries and concussions put him in constant, debilitating pain, and Boogaard was dead of an accidental drug overdose by the age of 28.
Boogaard was near the end of his career, playing for the New York Rangers, when he first heard the definition of "concussion." By then, he was in chronic pain and gobbling massive amounts of drugs. In one 16-day stretch, while playing for the Minnesota Wild, he was prescribed 150 pills of oxycodone and 40 of hydrocodone, both highly controlled substances, as well as Ambien and Xanax.
Today in NYR History June 23
1999: The Hockey Hall of Fame waives the usual three-year waiting period and announces that Wayne Gretzky will be part of the Class of 1999.
2001: Dan Blackburn is selected 10th overall in the 2001 NHL Draft.
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