Derek Boogaard

Derek Leendert Boogaard (later ; June 23, 1982 – May 13, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played for the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

A native of Saskatchewan, where he grew up in several different communities as the son of a Mountie, he was known primarily as a fighter and enforcer throughout his career, from junior hockey to the pros.

His fighting prowess earned him the nicknames of "Boogeyman" and "The Mountie", and made him a favourite with fans.

He played there for most of the 1998–99 season, scoring two goals and five points in 35 games, with 166 penalty minutes (PIM).

In 2007, he was voted as the second-most-intimidating player in the NHL, behind Georges Laraque, who attributed his retirement in part to a desire to avoid the serious injury Boogaard could inflict, such as the cheekbone fracture Todd Fedoruk suffered that had to be repaired with metal plates.

Boogaard died at 28 from an accidental drug and alcohol overdose while recovering from a concussion.

A posthumous examination of his brain found he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy more advanced than that seen in some former enforcers.

That disclosure came shortly after the deaths of two other hockey enforcers, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak, both of whom were also under 40 and had similar health issues.

The three deaths triggered a debate in the hockey community about the issues faced by enforcers and their place in the game.

His parents unsuccessfully sued the NHL and its players' union over his death.

Boogaard was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the first of four children of Len Boogaard, an officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and his wife Joanne, who were living in Hanley at the time.

Derek Boogaard had two younger brothers, Ryan and Aaron, and a sister, Krysten.

The family moved every few years due to the transfers required by the RCMP.

While they lived for a time near Toronto, most of Len Boogaard's postings were in Saskatchewan.

Boogaard grew up in Herbert, a predominantly Mennonite community.

He was taller than most children his age, reaching 6 ft in height and 210 lb by the age of 15.

His adolescent growth spurt led to chronic pain in his knees.

In school he struggled, especially with reading—his father believes Boogaard had "cognitive and behavioral issues", in particular impulsivity.

He was a frequent target of bullying, due to his size, shyness, and being the son of a police officer.

When challenged to fights, he often won them decisively, though friends and family say he did not seek them out.

"Derek would certainly stick up for the team, he would stick up for his teammates," recalled one of his youth hockey coaches, "but wasn't mean at all."

His family encouraged him to play hockey as an outlet, and his father would often drive him to distant games in his police car, an experience Boogaard was to recall fondly later in his life.

He quit hockey briefly at the age of 12, but his family talked him into returning.

In his early teens he stated that his goal in life was to play in the NHL, and idolized Wendel Clark, another Saskatchewan native who was at the time the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Boogaards later moved to Melfort.

Len would often drive his sons to Saskatoon for additional training in skating and boxing.

In youth hockey Boogaard, because of his size, often got penalties that, his coach says, were not his fault.

Parents of both teammates and opposing players complained that he was too large to be playing with children his age.

One night, while playing for the Melfort Mustangs, an unspecified incident led Boogaard to jump into the opposing bench and attempt to fight with opposing players, whose team was leading by a wide margin.

"He had gone ballistic," said his father, who was in attendance.

"It was something I hadn't seen before."

Boogaard was ejected from the game, and after changing out of his uniform went to sit next to his father in the stands.

Later they were approached by scouts from the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League.

They were impressed by Boogaard's boldness and offered him the chance to play junior hockey with the team, a first stop toward reaching the NHL.

By the time he began his junior hockey career, Boogaard had realized that if he wanted to make it to the NHL, he would only be able to do so as an enforcer, since fighting was his strongest skill.

In his first scrimmage with the Pats, he was challenged by another large player on the team.

Boogaard broke the other player's nose with his first punch.

His parents divorced but both moved to Regina to be close to him.

Boogaard's career there did not get off to a good start when he backed out of his first fight in a game against the Moose Jaw Warriors.

As a result, he was reassigned to the lower-division Regina Pats of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.