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ryan93
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
996 Posts |
 Posted - 08/15/2011 : 18:47:22
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The RCMP in Coleman, Alberta confirmed on Monday night that former Vancouver Canucks forward Rick Rypien has been found dead in his home.
Rypien was 27.
The six-year NHL veteran played in only nine games with the Canucks last season before leaving the team for personal reasons and eventually being put on injured reserve.
Rypien was loaned to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL late in the season for conditioning, and signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Winnipeg Jets this off-season.
The Coleman, Alberta native had 16 points and 226 penalty minutes in 119 career regular season games, all with the Canucks.
This is the second death of an NHL player in the last three months. Former Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers tough guy Derek Boogaard died in May because of a fatal mix of alcohol and oxycodone.
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ryan93
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
996 Posts |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 08/15/2011 : 19:16:14
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Wow, while shocking, in a way, with all the rumours that had been swirling the past couple years, it's not as shocking as it normally would be.
RIP |
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Oilearl
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
268 Posts |
Posted - 08/15/2011 : 19:25:19
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RIP sad news to loose someone so young!! I admired him for stepping up out of his weight class and took on all challenges! Very sad
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semin-rules
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1915 Posts |
Posted - 08/15/2011 : 20:17:08
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was looking forward to watching him play here 
RIP big guy |
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nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 08/15/2011 : 20:23:30
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| yeah, its a real shame, by all accounts he was a great person and a popular teammate, and certainly popular with Canucks fans. He obviously had some personal problems over the last couple of years, I suppose they sometimes culminate this way. |
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just1n
PickupHockey Pro
282 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2011 : 09:38:19
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Super sad. One can only speculate about what "personal reasons" caused him to miss so much time over the last few years as a Canuck. I guess those demons hadn't been fully sorted out yet. I was disappointed he signed elsewhere to be honest, was hoping he'd be able to come back for a full season.
RIP Ryper! |
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just1n
PickupHockey Pro
282 Posts |
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Guest9504
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Posted - 08/17/2011 : 10:41:59
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| A real tragedy. Does anyone know what the cause of death was? 27 year old guys don't normally drop dead. |
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nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2011 : 12:04:05
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| Not a lot has been said about the specifics. One article (out of WIN) reported that he was suffering from depression, which was long rumoured in Vancouver to be the source of his prolonged leaves of absence. I am guessing that "sudden and non-suspicious" death of a 27 year old athlete can only mean suicide. |
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Beans15
Moderator
Canada
8286 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2011 : 15:54:18
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I have heard a number of stories on the radio as well as printed stories that discussed depression. When I first heard, my immediate assumption was drugs. Suicide never entered my mind. It is sad and I totally admit it, but assumptions come quickly in situations like this.
Regardless of what kind of player this guy was or how 'important' he was to the game, this is tragic. He was someone's son, someone's brother, someone's friend.
Tragic. |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2011 : 18:09:34
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Everything i hear is suicide. Now, whether that involved an intentionaly overdose or not, i'm not certain, but they did say it was not suspicious. This leads me to believe it was in fact suicide.
Rypien had stated earlier this year (maybe this summer?) that he was getting on the right track and that it had nothing to do with an addiction (his probs). I believe the depression thing had been confirmed? |
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MrBoogedy
Rookie
Canada
195 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2011 : 21:04:09
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| what a shadow to cast on an eager team getting ready to make their debut. |
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n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 05:21:43
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I am quite certain it was ruled a suicide, by the way they have reported the story. They try their best to save face for the family by never fully stating it . . . and they try to "soften the blow" by making vague references to depression.
I'm not a huge fan of that style of reporting really - suicide is suicide, people are going to make their judgements no matter what really, and I think the truth is always the best way to go. But I do understand their thinking on the matter, and can respect it, especially if the request to do so came from the family (then I 100% agree with it).
Depression can be just so severe, hard for many of us to understand how a guy making hundreds of thousands of dollars, young, in fantastic shape, getting a new lease on life in his professional career . . . hard to understand how one could be SO depressed in those circumstances.
It is incredibly sad and sobering.
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 18:56:10
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quote:
Originally posted by slozo
I am quite certain it was ruled a suicide, by the way they have reported the story. They try their best to save face for the family by never fully stating it . . . and they try to "soften the blow" by making vague references to depression.
Here's a paragraph from a Yahoo sports article:
Jets assistant GM Craig Heisinger told reporters in Winnipeg on Tuesday that Rypien had battled depression for a decade. Police said Rypien’s death was not suspicious. No official cause of death has yet been given, but a Vancouver radio station reported he committed suicide.
I don't know what you meant "by softening the blow" but it's clearly been stated that he was in fact battling depression issues! That's been assumed around here for a long time and is the reason a lot of people assumed drugs may have been involved (still might be the way he took his life).
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n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2011 : 04:46:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Alex116
quote:
Originally posted by slozo
I am quite certain it was ruled a suicide, by the way they have reported the story. They try their best to save face for the family by never fully stating it . . . and they try to "soften the blow" by making vague references to depression.
Here's a paragraph from a Yahoo sports article:
Jets assistant GM Craig Heisinger told reporters in Winnipeg on Tuesday that Rypien had battled depression for a decade. Police said Rypien’s death was not suspicious. No official cause of death has yet been given, but a Vancouver radio station reported he committed suicide.
I don't know what you meant "by softening the blow" but it's clearly been stated that he was in fact battling depression issues! That's been assumed around here for a long time and is the reason a lot of people assumed drugs may have been involved (still might be the way he took his life).
You don't think that's softening the blow? Seriously? They only mention the word 'suicide' here as someone else's report, giving less credence to it - and most places don't mention that word, btw. They never mention what exact drugs he was taking, they never list any past attempts at suicide (almost guaranteed, more rare to be successful first time), etc etc. They don't go into any great deatails at all, in fact . . . specifically, the actual cause of death! We don't even know if he purposefully od'ed, or shot himself, or left the car on in the garage, or what. It could have been horrible, but we would never know it.
That is what I mean by "softening the blow". For gory details, I agree - no need to get into it. But if the police have right away viewed it as a suicide, IMHO, it should be listed as such, and we get on with it.
I think they might also do this to discourage other depressed people from taking that final step, actually. Wouldn't be surprised if that was the psychology behind it.
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
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RIP Rick Rypien 
