Wade Belak found dead in his condo

[Eddy Punch Clock]

http://twitter.com/#!/calgarysun

Crazy summer for tough guys.

[ClamRussel]

wtf

[ESQ]

Wow, this one is really shocking. I've seen a few interviews of Belak and he never seemed to be as quiet and brooding and Boogard and Rypien, kind of had a sense of humour about being a tough guy.

I gotta wonder, has there been some sort of culture shift amongst tough guys that is causing this rash of tragedies? Is drug use more rampant, are there more concussions leading to mental health problems, what is it and why is it all coming to a head this summer???

A real tragedy, thoughts to his family.

[SKYO]

Wow that is unbelievable, and his recent tweets all sounded so normal.

r.i.p Wade.

[Lloyd Braun]

Wow. I don't know why, but the third is even more shocking than the first two.

Three deaths this summer? All tough guys?

I guess it's harder to write off as a coincidence. It almost certainly is a coincidence, but ...

R.I.P.

[jackalman]

rest in piece Wade.

This is getting to be a serious series of events. The (take fighting out of the game) talks are on the way, no dought. I would have been on the "f@#% that" side of those talks normally... but holy s%&#

[rats19]

R.I.P Mr. Belak...
wtf is going on?????

[Hockey Widow]

Suicide!
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2 ... ml?cmp=rss

[BCExpat]

This is extremely sad, and very weird - three tough guys in a row. I didn't realize there were so many depressed NHL enforcers.

[CrzyCanuck]

Indeed a terrible summer for the world of hockey. RIP



But just when all the tough guys are going away unexpectedly, or in the most unexpected fashion...
we are trying to load up more of them in the system. MG better has his Sports psychologist on call.

[Per]

Doctor Ritchi Morris, Ph.D., ND, a New York based sports psychologist found some startling revelations. Dr. Morris took a group of 16 elite bodybuilders and professional football players who regularly use anabolic/androgenic steroids and found a direct correlation between the drug use and a depression syndrome commonly found among alcoholics and cocaine users. Dr. Morris further noted that all the athletes in the study experienced significant depression during their “off drug cycles”. Several in his study developed a psychological dependency, choosing to stay on steroids year round rather than face the “black dog” of depression and the negative self image that has been associated with the down cycle.

http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/art ... onnection/

Feel bad for the guy and his family.

My guess is that what is needed is stricter enforcement of doping regulations.

[dbr]

Hey Per I don't mean to be a dink but do you have any indication that Belak actually used steroids? A quick Google search doesn't reveal anything..

Unless I am missing something, of course.

If not - it seems a bit disrespectful to hijack the discussion of a dead guy to talk about a problem we have no indication he was a part of (even if it seems like a reasonable assumption).

[ODB]

Hey Per I don't mean to be a dink but do you have any indication that Belak actually used steroids? A quick Google search doesn't reveal anything..

Unless I am missing something, of course.

If not - it seems a bit disrespectful to hijack the discussion of a dead guy to talk about a problem we have no indication he was a part of (even if it seems like a reasonable assumption).

+1

[dbr]

Apparently Belak hanged himself.

[herb]

Apparently "non-suspicious death" is the new term for suicide.

I was wondering if he off'd himself given it didn't appear as though they were waiting for autopsy or toxicology results.

I cannot imagine the pain one must be going through in order to even contemplate suicide. RIP