In a sad piece of news, yet another former NHL tough guy has passed away at a young age.
Todd Ewen, the former NHL enforcer called "The Animal" for his ferocious playing style and penchant for fighting, died on Saturday night. His passing was confirmed by the St. Louis Blues' Twitter account. He was 49 years old.
A career enforcer, Ewen played from 1986-97, and played for the Blues, the Montreal Canadiens, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and the San Jose Sharks at a time where enforcers were prevalent in the NHL. In 518 career games, Ewen scored 36 goals, 40 assists and racked up 1,911 penalty minutes in his 11 seasons.
Ewen was a staple of the St. Louis Blues roster, and would often square off against the likes of Bob Probert, fueling a lasting rivalry between St. Louis and Detroit. Ewen was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in 1989-90 and he and won the cup with Montreal in 1993. He would then go on to join the Mighty Ducks in 1993-94, and was tasked with protecting star players such as Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya.
Former teammate Brett Hull reached out after the news of Ewen's death broke.
"I was proud to call Todd Ewen a teammate and more importantly, a friend," former Blues star Brett Hull tweeted. Can't believe you're gone."
Sadly, Ewen joins a list of former NHL enforcers who have at a young age, including Steve Montador (35), Wade Belak (35), Derek Boogaard (28) andRick Rypien (27). Ewen was a true warrior in a time where the toughest of the tough hit the ice.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in this difficult time.
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