Ray Sawada, 38, retired from pro hockey in 2016 and went on to work as a firefighter for the City of Burnaby.
Sawada, 38, died on Monday “while playing the game he loved,” according to the GoFundMe organized by Brianne Sameshima.Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion delivered straight to your inbox at 7 a.m., Monday to Friday.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails or any newsletter. Postmedia Network Inc.
“Ray was such a bright light in the lives he touched,” said the fundraising campaign. “Ray was passionately driven and motivated in everything he did, and the surrounding community will be left with a void.”Sawada grew up in Richmond and played with the Nanaimo Clippers, a Junior A team in the B.C. Hockey League.
In the NHL, he played for the Dallas Stars, which drafted him in the second round of the 2004 NHL entry draft. He made his National Hockey League 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.The fundraiser has raised more than $195,000, surpassing its $50,000 goal in less than 24 hours.
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