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OHL, Battalion mourning death of Saginaw Spirit's Trafford

While the NHL is reeling over the Rich Peverley near death experience during a Dallas-Columbus game on Monday; today, the Ontario Hockey League is mourning the loss of one of its own away from the rink on Tuesday.

While the NHL is reeling over the Rich Peverley near death experience during a Dallas-Columbus game on Monday; today, the Ontario Hockey League is mourning the loss of one of its own away from the rink on Tuesday.

Mid Tuesday afternoon the Saginaw News reported that the vehicle of missing Saginaw Spirit forward Terry Trafford was found along with a body behind a Walmart in the Saginaw area.

The-20-year-old forward from Toronto was reported missing on March 3rd after he was sent home for “disciplinary reasons” by the team according to Saginaw team president Craig Goslin.

The Spirit released a message on their website early Tuesday evening.

“It is with very heavy hearts that we announce that late this afternoon we were informed by the Michigan State Police that the body of Terry Trafford has been found,” the team said in the release.

“Our deepest condolences are with Terry’s family and his friends both in Ontario and Michigan. Terry played on our team and was a member of the Spirit family for the last four years and he will be missed.

“We have reached out to Terry’s parents and will look to provide them with support over the coming days. In addition, we met with team players and staff this evening, along with our Team Chaplain.

“On behalf of the Spirit we would like to thank the police who were looking for Terry, the media for providing updates and all who provided information. The coming days will be difficult and we will endeavour to keep the community and media apprised of arrangements and other details.”

The Twitter-verse has been an outlet for sharing the sorrow, even all the way here in North Bay.

The news obviously hit very close to home with Zach Bratina, the former Saginaw Spirit forward who joined the Battalion at the Christmas break.

“RIP Terry Trafford. You will be greatly missed. Amazing teammate and even better friend. I will always remember the times we had together,” Bratina stated via twitter around 7 pm Tuesday night.

Other Battalion players who crossed paths with Trafford in the GTA expressed their sadness.

“Thoughts and prayers are with the Trafford family. Rest in Peace Terry,” stated Battalion captain Barclay Goodrow on Twitter.

“RIP Terry Trafford. Thoughts and prayers go out to your family and teammates. Such a great guy and teammate,” said Connor Jarvis on Twitter.

The OHL sent out a release recognizing the tragedy. The league says a moment of silence to honour Trafford will occur at the next home game for teams across the league.

"On behalf of the Ontario Hockey League, our teams, players and staff I want to express our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Terry Trafford. This is a tragic situation for all involved," said OHL Commissioner David Branch in a OHL press release.

"We will work closely with the Saginaw Spirit to provide any support required to the players and staff during this very difficult time. In addition, all of our teams will be offering support to their players.

"I would like to thank investigators in both Ontario and Michigan, the media for informing the public and for all who provided information. We will cooperate fully with any investigations."

The Spirit announced their game scheduled for Wednesday, March 12th vs. the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds has been postponed due to the Trafford tragedy.

 


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Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
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