RIP Derek Boogaard

If you pick a birthplace and hometown for a NHL player few are better than Saskatoon Saskatchewan, even one who only scored 3 goals and 13 assists in 277 games played. It lies due north of Montana and North Dakota and has an average winter temperature that wevery pro golfer wishes that could match score wise on Sunday afternoon, the name just sounds like hockey. That is where Derek Boogaard, who was found dead in his apartment Saturday a month shy of his 29th birthday, was proudly born and raised. He played his junior hockey for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League and in six seasons in the NHL racked up 589 penalty minutes. He was beloved by fans and teammates because he was the best enforcer in the NHL. He played his first five seasons in Minnesota, which could easily be Canada's 11 province, and was the most popular Wild player in the locker room and in the stands. Last year he played for the New York Rangers after signing an offseason contract for 6.5 million over four years. After watching their stars get pushed around last season the Rangers contract offer showed how valuable Boogard was on the ice, or even on the bench.

Being an NHL enforcer is not an easy job, but at 6'7", 270 pounds Boogaard was made for the job, he was imposing and he stood tall in the center of the ice. His scaps on hockeyfights.com became legandary and after his rookie year his fights dropped each consecutive years as other enforcers ducked him for their own safety. His season ended in December after a fight in which he sustained a concussion, and his legacy will be defined from the ongoing investigation into how he died. His family donated his brain to the researchers at Boston University and their future findings will be telling and could easily be the turning point for the enforcer position on a NHL roster as a whole in future seasons.

That is all for another day as this past Saturday the NHL lost a good man with the respect and love of his teammates and opponents. Boogaard knew how much it meant to play in the NHL and he cherised being an NHL player every day.