Saturday, May 21, 2011

Derek Boogaard Buried Today in Home-Town in Saskatchewan

A somber walk from the chapel in Regina, Saskatchewan this afternoon as hundreds attended the private funeral for the Saskatchewan-born Boogaard. A good summary of the service is here.


Jesse Spector at the Daily News attended and had this to report:

About 40 members of the Rangers organization were in attendance today, led by MSG Sports president and Rangers alternate governor Scott O’Neil, as well as Glen Sather, the full training staff and nearly all of the players.

John Tortorella, recovering from knee replacement surgery earlier this month, is not yet able to travel.

Brendan Shanahan, now a vice president in the league office, flew to Regina with the Rangers contingent, and the NHLPA was represented by executive director Donald Fehr along with Jim McKenzie, a tough customer in his own right during his playing days.

While many of Boogaard’s former Wild teammates also paid their respects, it was of particular note that Jody Shelley made the trip from Philadelphia, such was his respect for a fellow combatant. Boogaard and Shelley fought six times over the years, most recently in November in Philadelphia.

Family leads the attendees out of the chapel.
It was Krysten's graduation day today at the University of Kansas.

Anecdote from Jacques Lemaire, former coach of the Minnesota Wild: I told him you have to work on your skills and take no bad penalties,” Lemaire said.

“One game Derek took a bad penalty early, and the next day he walked in and gave me a check for $10,000. He told me, ‘If I ever take a bad penalty again, cash this.’ I never had to, and I wound up tearing it in half after a few weeks. But I posted it on my bulletin board to show people how serious he was about trying.”

Sean Avery, Marian Gaborik, Brian Boyle and Ryan Callahan pictured here.

---The Graying Mantis


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